Odds and Ends
by ChicFlick97
Summary: Crash Bandicoot has been given a mission: to protect a young woman. Her DNA is the the rarest and will only work through Cortex's latest invention. It's bad enough with Crash's arrogance, but will he be able to stand her attitude? Or, will love flourish?
1. How It Begins

**Odds and Ends**

_A Crash Bandicoot Fanfiction by Chicflick_

* * *

"Great. I get to go halfway across the globe to babysit some damsel in distress. Best day of my life," muttered the cocky orange hero, known as Crash Bandicoot himself.

"Stop complaining. She's only a few years younger than you, and she's a lot more mature," Coco Bandicoot, his sister, said.

"So, why am I going to North America again, playing 'bodyguard?'" he asked half-heartedly.

"Well, first of all, she doesn't know any combat moves or anything. She can't really put up a fight if Cortex came and captured her or something."

"Pfft. Puh-lease. Why would Cortex want to catch such a weakling who has to have a bigger person come up and protect her?"

"Well, the girl isn't strong, I'll give you that. But things Cortex tried to do on you won't work any other being in the world—except for her. Do you think that she would be able to stand up to the hypnotization that Cortex tried to put you through?"

"…No. Hell, I couldn't get through it while lookin' awesome. That prissy female wouldn't last a whole seven minutes in heaven, let alone two seconds in that stupid machine."

"Well, I figured this whole thing out when Cortex got quiet for a while. I didn't know what to do, so I tried hacking into his computer mainframe. I couldn't get through everything, so I took what little information I had, downloaded it into my computer—"

"Can we get to the point, Einstein?"

She growled. "I used a Relic you got and took a look into the future."

"Whoa! Let me guess, I was still as handsome as I am now, and Father Time has failed to age me."

"No, Crash. The girl was the general of a robotic army. She was what brought Cortex to success in world domination. She had the strategies of battle that every other general would only dream of realizing; therefore she never lost a single battle."

"Heh, then she didn't fight me."

"Actually, Crash, she fought you. In fact, she fought you first because you were the first to rebel against Cortex. And you didn't win."

"Oh. Well, in that case, I guess I should learn better tactics."

"Crash! This is serious! You need to go up there and prevent Cortex from getting a hold of her!"

"Sure, sure," he nodded with a dismissive flip of his hand.

"I'm not kidding! You need to understand this can turn into a crisis!"

He exhaled. "Fine. So, if I'm going into a world chucked-full of humans, won't they be a little bit shocked to see a walking, talking bandicoot?"

"That is why," Coco walked over to a medium-sized box and picked it up. She then walked back over to Crash and handed it to him. "I have these."

Crash then opened the box to reveal a helmet and a leather jacket. Puzzled, he put them on. Surprisingly, the helmet was a nice fit, along with the jacket. To no surprise, they were both black, so he had the biker appearance.

He walked over to a large computer monitor that was turned off, and marveled at his reflection. "Good. Now I get to complete my dream as a cross-country motorist. Hooray. Although I will admit, I still look pretty good, and I could pass for a member of mankind."

"Yeah, sure, whatever it takes to get you over there. Don't ever take these off in public, okay? Now, take your tricycle and get into the Transportation Chamber."

"It's a motorbike!"

"GO!"

* * *

Kate Clark was staring at the clock. Waiting. _Why won't time just hurry up, _she thought.

She was at work, a small grocery store in a small town in the large state of Arizona. Kate was an twenty-year-old girl, with a rental college dorm. She was considered an overachiever, so she went to college free.

She was short for her age, really. About five foot four, approximately. She had deep red hair; pulled back into a bushy style she called the "Bunny Tail". It was a cross between a bun and a bushy ponytail. She had grey –green eyes, and wore little make-up, besides some blush and mascara. She wore an olive green shirt and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, and a pair of black canvas tennis shoes with white laces.

Kate was a stubborn, cocky young adult. She didn't show emotions in public, but wasn't a quiet person. She had plenty of friends, although her constant sarcasm made her a bit of an annoyance. But she was loved anyway. Good stories have good endings, right?

Only one more minute and she was free to go home…

"Kate!" a man's voice shouted from afar. Said girl barely acknowledged the call. "Hey, Kate, I was wondering you could do me a favor. You see, I-"

8:00 p.m.

"Sorry, Brian, but its closing time. I'll do it tomorrow, whatever it is," she said, and strode out the door.

She walked down the parking lot hastily. She was heading to her car, a Chevy Nitro with a silver exterior. Was it expensive? Yes, yes it was.

Kate was standing in front of her car, trying to find the right key to her car. She was about to get to the right key when, they fell from her hands and onto the ground below. Muttering a few profanities to herself, she picked the keys up and tried again.

At last, she found the right key and shoved it into the lock. As the car made the click of being unlocked, she caught something in the reflection of her car window. It was large and started to glimmer in the night's moon. "What the—"

Suddenly, a huge arm extended from it and grabbed Kate. She yelped at the brute force of the metallic hand, and it brought her to face a strange man at the top of the robot. She struggled to be free, but she then saw how high she was from the ground, and halted her actions.

"Hello, young girl," said the freak in the glass dome. "How is my future minion doing today, hm?"

"What?—who the hell are you?" she said. "Let me go!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, my sweet. I am Dr. Neo Cortex, future ruler over the Earth." He stated. Kate stared at him. He had black hair in only certain spots; the top front, and left and right sides right above his ears. He had a goatee, yellow, hideous skin, and wore a lab coat and black gloves. The most noticeable thing on his face was an "N" tattooed onto his forehead. Kate figured that "tattooed" wouldn't be the right word; it looked like a big metal piece implanted there.

It was obvious this oaf wasn't from around here.

"You should either join a tanning booth or a circus! Let me go! I can't stand to stare at that grotesque skin tone," she said.

He growled, and mumbled something like, "someday these fools will be kneeling at my feet". Kate, who was not one to start panicking in intense situations such as these, figured that she was going to be stuck here for a while. She got into the most comfortable position she could muster in the hand of a giant robot, and let out a long sigh.

_How I could not see that robot in the first place, I'll never know,_ she thought.

* * *

Crash's vision stopped swirling, and discovered he was in a small alley, grasping onto his bike. He took a look at his surroundings, and closed the visor to his helmet. He got onto his bike, and started the motor. Then, he sped of into the street, dodging the few cars, and riding into a country road.

Being an experienced driver on the motorcycle, he had no trouble passing the cars. What the problem right now was:

How the world is he going to find the one girl in this town?

Crash knew what she looked like; short, red hair in an up-do, wearing a green shirt and skinny jeans. Still, he was unprepared, because he didn't know where she lived or worked. He figured he could ask the locals, which could possibly work.

He saw a grocery store up ahead, and decided to stop there and ask for directions. He pulled to a stop in the parking lot, and found out it was closed.

"Can I help you?" Crash was startled by the sudden voice, and whirred around to see a middle-aged man.

"Uh, yeah. Do you know of a young girl named Kate? She has red hair, she was wearing a greenish shirt, and she has a pony-tail," the bandicoot asked.

"Well, you're in luck! I have an employee who is just as you described!"

"Great! Which way did she go?"

"Well, I'm not sure. You see, her car is still parked here. I didn't know if I should call the police or what."

"Well, I'll handle it from here. Thanks for the info."

"No problem!"

And with the farewells, the two split paths, the man getting into his car and heading back to town, while Crash was still standing in the small parking lot. He had very little information, and the girl was nowhere to be found. What if Cortex already got to her? That would be bad.

He knew that this road only leads back to the city and out to the country. Since the girl was probably not in the former, he knew that she had to be out in the country somewhere.

So, as Crash finished his hypothesis, he got back onto his motorcycle and sped into the road.

* * *

Kate was staring off into the distance with a stern look of annoyance on her face. That madman was babbling away at how he will rule the world and how the people will bow to his feet. Why was he kidnapping her, though? What did Kate ever do to cause this?

Maybe it was cosmic payback for running over the headmaster of her college's cat. Meh, that old bag of catnip probably wanted to die anyway. Everyday he was forced to wear a cone on his head, the poor thing.

"So that is why, I have chosen you to be my general in my new robotic army," the Cortex guy said.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," she muttered.

"You weren't even listening to me, were you?"

"Heh, how long did it take for you to figure that one out, Doc?"

"Grrr… You are just like infernal Crash, always mocking and defying me."

"Uh, I'm not one to correct people, but I think you kind of screwed up your sentence. Crash is a verb. Jeez, I thought you were a doctor."

_Hm, maybe she, not knowing who Crash Bandicoot is, isn't such a bad idea… It might keep her from rebelling with him, _he thought.

After about five minutes of complete silence, Kate spoke up. "You know, I wasn't planned to be kidnapped by the Terminator. Where's John Connor when you need 'im?"

Suddenly, she heard a motor coming from below. "Sorry!" a male voice shouted up. "Ol' Johnny couldn't make it today! How about a replacement?"

Cortex, who acted like he had just heard an animal dying (or it was about to die in a few minutes according to him), looked down from his glass dome to see a biker right beside his robot. Wait, was it that pest? It certainly sounded like it.

"Well, I, for one, don't like to be trapped in the giant metal hand of a robot rocketing down the road. So, yeah. A little help would be nice," Kate shouted back at him.

"You fool! You cannot save her! The robot is indestructible!" Cortex shouted.

"Really?" the biker said. "Well in that case," he took a box-like object and got his motorcycle closer to the machine. He then latched it onto the stem connecting the torso of the robot to a pair of large wheels. "Let's test your theory."

Cortex realized that it was a bomb, and accidentally released his grip on the girl. Luckily for her, the biker was there in an instant to catch her. He swiftly moved her to the backseat of his motorcycle, and sped as far as he could from the machine.

Cortex was bluffing when he said his robot was indestructible. Very quickly, he arranged for his protective dome to transform into an escape pod. At the press of a button, the capsule took to the skies, heading for its designated target, a newly built space station.

"Curses! I will eventually overpower you! I _will _kill you!" he said as he was spiraling into space.

"Good luck! You're going to need it!" the biker said.

After the madman disappeared, the girl spoke up. Actually, she had to shout so her savior could hear her. "Hey! Thanks! I owe you one! By the way, what's your name?"

"My name?"

"No, I was talking to the bike," she said. Crash almost grinned and could tell immediately that he was going to get along swell with such a suave girl like this. "Yes, your name!"

"Well, I'm…"

At that moment, he could've sworn he saw a weird creature that looked like a cross between a rabbit and a deer. What did they say they were? Jackalopes! That's right!

_Wait, that gives me an idea, _he thought.

"My name is, uh, Jack! The name's Jack, mate!"

"Ooh, you talk weird. What are you, Australian?"

"Good guess, Red!" Jack said, and the two sped off into the horizon.

* * *

_A/N: Well! I hope you liked the first chapter of Odds and Ends! I know the name sucks. Oh well. Shout-out to Bandi-cute—thanks for letting me use the personality you use for Crash!_

_Oh, in the future, I will continue to use the Jack for Crash when Kate is around. The odds are you will only see him as Crash when he is thinking, alone, etc. In the end, well, I can't tell you. I guess you'll have to keep reading!_

—**Chicflick—**


	2. Plans Unravel

**Odds and Ends 2**

_A Fanfiction by Chicflick_

_A/N: Hey! Thank you with the encouraging reviews so far! I accept anonymous, so feel free to leave comments and whatnot!_

**ON WITH THE STORY!**

* * *

The two were driving down the road in "Jack's" motorcycle. It had been a very long drive and a quiet one at that. Neither one of them had spoken a word. It was dark outside, and Kate decided to check the time, using her cell phone.

By what she had seen, it was about 9:00 pm. Unfortunately, Jack hit a small bump, jerking the smartphone from her hand.

"Well, there goes my phone, skidding across this forsaken road in the middle of the desert," she muttered.

"Eh, you didn't need it anyways. The odds are I would've smashed it myself to prevent that freak from following us, but it looks like Mother Nature did me a favor," he said.

"Man, I knew I should've gotten phone insurance."

As it was almost completely silent for the rest of the drive, eventually they wound up in a small city. They bypassed a small billboard saying, "Welcome to Tuba City!"

"Heh, what a name to be proud of," Jack muttered.

Just then, Kate slugged him. "Hey, I was born here. Cut the place some slack." And that was that.

After slowing down to the city's speed limit, he decided that he'd better get some gas. Stopping at the nearest gas station, he pulled next to the pump. He then got off his bike, pacing over to the pump. _Wait, how am I going to pay for it? _he thought. He put his hands in his jacket's pocket, only to feel a clump of extra leather in the right pocket. He grabbed the object and took it out of the pocket.

Ironically, it was a wallet.

Jack grinned, although no one would have seen it due to the helmet. He opened it, to reveal a fake motorcycle license that apparently Coco had made. The photo amused him. There were also about five credit cards, and over seven hundred dollars in cash in the small piece of leather.

"This is unbelievable." He breathed. Oddly enough, when he was going through his cash, he found a note.

_"Crash,_

_Use the money only when needed. I worked hard for it, and I don't want it spent on things like an Xbox._

_-Coco"_

"Well, I'll be damned," he muttered. He crumpled the paper and tossed it in the trash.

"Hello? Are you going to fill up the gas to this thing or what?" Kate said as she got off the bike as well.

"Yeah, I was just—Nah, forget it."

"Alright. So, why am I stuck with you, of all people? Why did you decide to play 'hero' and rescue me?"

Well, this stinks. It's a good thing he lived for these moments. "I was hired by the, uh, government. I'm here to protect you from that jackass while we travel places. If I take you back home, there's another chance he'll come, so we should stay on the move," He replied.

"Okay... So what's with the look?"She asked.

"Well, you see, I'm undercover. Besides, I was only hired. I'm not a real agent."

"Why won't you take off the helmet?"

Uh-oh. "Uh, well, I can't let you or anyone else know who I really am. It might, uh, jeopardize the mission."

"Well that's stupid. But so long as you keep a good 'distance' from me, I'd be more than happy to be your friend."

"Keep my distance? ...Oh. No worries, I'm not like that."

She just gave him the eye and got on the bike. "I told you I'm not like that! Man, are all of you people here so sick-minded?"

"Check back with me when you get on the Internet. I think you'll have you answer."

"Whatever. Let's just go."

After Jack swiped a card, he retreated to the bike, and departed from the gas station's parking lot.

* * *

Cortex was in his newly-built space station, pacing back and forth. "That wretched fool! He thinks he can just steal her from me, does he? Well, he is WRONG!"

N. Gin was watching Cortex shout and yell, nervously trying to pinpoint things that could help the man calm down.

"Cortex, you—"

"And that girl. She's as defiant as him! Now they've met! This is not what I planned!"

"Well, she—"

"Do you have any idea how it was supposed to work, N. Gin?"

"N-no." he stuttered.

Cortex inhaled slowly, and breathed out. "Listen. I am planning to take over the world." Surprise. "That girl is my ticket to being the emperor of the planet."

"Why?"

"You see, once I capture her, I will have a mechanical body be built and I will form the two together. From then on, she will be known as Cyboria and will rule as a general of a robotic army."

"What about Crash?"

"What ABOUT Crash?" Cortex countered.

"What are you going to do with him?"

"Hm… Maybe, I should have the girl bring him to me, so then I may kill him myself. I don't want her or any of the robots have the pleasure of killing my greatest enemy."

"It makes sense."

"Prepare to die, Crash Bandicoot! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

"Yeah… Ha-ha…Haha-ha-haha-ha."

* * *

The two were planning on stopping at a local Motel 8 to rest for the night. As they walked inside, they noticed it was semi-clean, which was good.

"Hello?" asked the receptionist.

"Hey," Jack greeted. "We want a room."

After the business of credit cards and such, the clerk showed them to their room, and soon after left. The duo walked inside to find it was very neat, except there was one problem.

"There's only one bed." Jack said. They turned to face each other, which after entering the motel he decided to leave his visor open.

Without wasting another second gawking at him, Kate dashed towards the bed, and leaped onto the covers face-down. After sitting up and brushing the hair out of her face, she said, "Dibs."

Jack just stood there with a look of complete disbelief on his face. _"Dibs?_ Well where the hell am I supposed to sleep?"

Kate pursed her lips and turned around and grabbed a pillow. She chucked it at him, and soon grabbed an extra blanket and did the same with it. "The floor."

Jack groaned. "I'm going to go talk to that clerk at the desk."

"Don't get lost!" Kate shouted.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

Walking through the lighted halls of the motel wasn't the greatest walks that Jack's experienced. He could've sworn he saw a couple of cockroaches, and the room in front of them had a large spider on the door.

"Heh. Good luck passing the health inspection." He mumbled.

He was now in the lobby with the clerk, who was finishing a crossword puzzle. She had not seen Jack coming, so she was startled when he tapping on the glass with his knuckle.

"Oh! Ahem, may I help you, sir?" she asked.

"Yeah, you see, we needed a room with two beds."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me check here…" She put the puzzle book down and looked at a clipboard underneath. Jack was leaning on the counter in front of the glass, patiently waiting. "Well, I'm sorry, sir. We don't have any extra rooms with two beds. If it would help, we have blow-up mattress."

Jack blinked. He thought, _well, it's better than sleeping on the floor. Considering this place's cleanliness, I'd have a bug in my ear when I woke up._

"Yeah, sure, I'll take the mat." He replied.

So, the clerk left the desk and disappeared into a room in the back. About five minutes later she was carrying a deflated piece of rubber. She handed it to him. "Sorry for the inconvenience. I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay."

"My pleasure, mate." Jack said as he left the room. Just as he was leaving, he caught a glimpse of the lady starting to admire him. "Heh, maybe if the clerk likes me, I can get some sort of discount," he muttered.

Taking the walk back to his room, he noticed a vending machine. Deciding he could use a quick snack he could eat when Kate was asleep, he bought what seemed to be the most filling item on the list: trail mix. Shoving the item away in his pocket, he headed towards the room.

He reached for the door handle. To his misfortune, he forgot to grab the key to the room. Muttering a profanity, Jack heaved a sigh and knocked on the door.

Kate was watching TV when she heard the knock. She was about to say, "Use the key, moron!", when she noticed it was sitting right there on the nightstand. "Men. They're so predictable."

She got up from the bed, and walked over to the door. "Who is it?"

"Let me in, Kate!" Jack said impatiently.

"How do I know you aren't some sort of robot spy or something?"

"Oh, yeah. That's exactly what I am. I'm just a robot that snuck past Jack without him even noticing my bulky metal body, and my clanking metal echoing throughout the freaking halls."

"Then I can't let you in, can I?"

"**Kate!"**

She opened the door at last. Jack gave her a look of hatred, but she grinned all the same. He realized he couldn't really blow up the mattress until Kate was asleep, so until then, he decided to join her in watching the television.

He set the inflatable bed down and walked over to the table and chairs. He grabbed one of the two pink fabric chairs and situated it so he could see the TV.

"So, is anything good on TV?" he asked.

"Well, this is the Sci-Fi channel. It has a bunch of cool science fiction movies."

"Really? What's on right now?"

"Lake Placid. It's a movie about man-eating crocs."

"That's nifty. Although, I bet you've never actually wrestled an alligator."

"Oh, and you have, Mister Resourceful?"

"No, not exactly. But I have faced a couple of komodo dragons."

"You're kidding!"

"I kid you not; they were fierce, too. They were named Komodo Moe and Komodo Joe."

"Really? Why did they have names?"

"Uh, no reason in particular. Oh, and I beat them more than once, too."

"Wow. Sounds exciting."

After idle chit-chat, the two were becoming drowsy. It was eleven 'o clock, according to the alarm. Kate was worn out, and fell asleep soon after the movie was over.

Jack, of course, noticed this, and quietly walked over to check if she would wake up easily. Snapping his fingers couple times close to her face, she proved to be a heavy sleeper.

Deciding it was safe, Crash took off the helmet. "Hm. Isn't it amazing that with a simple hat you have a completely different identity?"

Kate stirred, Crash immediately stopped breathing. After seeing she was still sleeping, Crash let out a breath.

"I should really try whispering sometime."

Crash picked up the mattress and dragged it over to the short hallway connecting the room to the door. He then started to blow air into it, and he could see it starting to inflate. But, as his luck would have it, he was in need of lung power to get it done quickly.

Crash decided that it would be best to do it halfway, eat the trail mix he just remembered he had, and then finish the job.

So, when the halfway-point came, he already found his lungs and lips sore. He groaned. "It's a process," he muttered. He leaned back against the wall, and opened the package. Sprinkling the combo of raisins, nuts, and colorful candy (that Crash soon found out was chocolate) in his hand, he tossed them into his mouth and began to chew lightheartedly.

"Mm. Not as good as Wumpa Fruit, but it'll work for now."

Finished eating, Crash got to his feet and tossed the wrapper in the trash. He really hated blowing up the mattress, but it had to be done. Taking a deep breath, he brought the small plastic piece to his mouth and he started to blow air in it.

At long last, he was finished forcing air into the mattress. Crash inhaled deeply. "It's about time."

Crash silently dragged the inflated mattress over beside the bed. The two beds were only two feet apart. He took his given cover and blanket and retreated to his mattress. Setting his helmet next to him, he covered his head with the blanket and started to drift to sleep.

Just then, it occurred to him that this girl could be an early bird. What if she got up before him and yanked the cover off? Yikes.

Groaning and moaning a string of profanities to himself, Crash pushed himself from the mattress and stood up. What was he going to do now? Sleep in the hall?

Wait, maybe he could sleep in the bathroom.

Proud that he came up with another brilliant plan, Crash hefted his bulky bed into the room with the porcelain throne. He shoved the mattress into the bathtub, and went back out to retrieve his helmet, blanket, and pillow.

"I am going to sleep… if it kills me," he muttered as he walked into the bathroom with the items. He closed the door, and locked it behind him.

* * *

"JACK! OPEN THE FREAKING DOOR!"

Crash woke up to the sound of pounding on the bathroom door. "Mmm… No…Five more minutes, Coco."

"C'mon! I have to go NOW!" Kate shouted.

Crash realized that he needed to get up ASAP. He crawled out of tub, groaning in pain from the uncomfortable position he was in. "Hang on, Kate. I'm leaving."

"Well, hurry up! I don't have all day, you know!"

He slipped his helmet on, becoming Jack once again, and decided to come back for the other stuff later. He unlocked the door, walked out. Kate rushed inside, leaving Jack alone in the room.

"Pfft. Women," he muttered.

After Kate was finished with her business, she walked out of the bathroom with a perplexed look on her face, holding the pillow Jack used. "Did you sleep in the bathroom?"

"Uh, yeah. I um… You see… Hey, why don't you got eat breakfast?" He said nervously. Kate just rolled her eyes.

"Whatever."

Kate walked down into the lobby, and noticed that you had to pay extra for breakfast. "Hmm… Well, I have to follow orders, don't I?"

So she got a bagel, some juice, and a waffle. "Mmm… Delicious." She said when she finished her meal.

Jack walked in the lobby, sending a slight wave to the clerk, causing Kate to raise an eyebrow. "Oh, so Jack has a girlfriend now, huh?"

"Nah, I'm just being extra friendly in case she decides to give us some sort of discount." He replied.

"You could do better."

Jack narrowed his eyes, but then noticed the same sign that Kate had noticed. It read, "Breakfast Fee Required."

"What the—they make you pay a fee for breakfast? That's outrageous!" he said in a low whisper.

"Well, you told me to go and devour the most important meal of the day. I was just following orders, chief."

"Heh-heh-heh. Cute."

Jack was got up and walked over to the reception desk. "So, uh, I guess I should pay you guys now, huh?"

The clerk giggled. "Okay, cash or credit?"

"Hmm… Cash or credit… how about credit, with a little slack?"

"Oh, you wanted a discount? I don't know… What do I get?"

"Well, what do you want?"

"I'd like you to take off the helmet, so I can see if you're cute or not."

Crap. "I'll pay full, thank you."

"Aw, why not?" She started to put on a pouty face. Kate saw this immediately realized she was grinding her teeth. _Wait, there is no freaking way I'm falling for a guy I just met, _she thought.

Jack was starting to sweat, knowing the reaction he would cause if he took off the helmet. "I said I'll pay full, ma'am. Here's my credit card."

The receptionist furrowed her brow and took the card. "Thank you for your stay, sir."

"You're very welcome. C'mon, Kate! Let's hit the road!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm comin'."

And the duo walked out into the parking lot and got on Jack's motorcycle. Jack started the motor, and Kate grabbed onto his torso for grip. "Don't crush my lungs now, Kate."

"Oh, be quiet and drive," she snapped. So, they sped off into the road, leaving a trail of dust behind them.

* * *

_A/N: Woo! I am loving the positive reviews! Thank you all for the support! You have no idea how much it helps! Again, I accept anonymous reviews. Thanks, y'all!_

—Chicflick—


	3. Shopping for Goodies

**Odds and Ends**

_A Crash Bandicoot Fanfiction by Chicflick_

Welcome back to another interesting chapter! Sorry if you might find a couple of screw-ups; Microsoft Word 2007 isn't working worth crap. So, uh, on with the story.

* * *

Cortex stood in the middle of his lab, with a dark look on his face. "That bandicoot will die, N. Gin."

"Yes, sir."

"My plans are completely fool-proof! All I need to do now is capture that blasted girl!"

"Yes, sir, the girl."

"And the new ship I will go to Earth in is simply indestructible!"

"Yes, Doctor."

"Are you just being a 'Yes-man'?"

"... Y-yes, Master Cortex."

"Hm. Good."

* * *

The two characters were zooming down the road. Jack, who was simply thinking of home, was dreaming of laying on the beaches of N. Sanity Island. He pictured himself as Crash Bandicoot, napping from eating several Wumpa Fruit.

His wonderful daydreams were cut short when Kate tapped on his left shoulder. "Hm?" he replied.

"Um, I thought I should tell you I have to use the lady's room," she told him.

"What? But you went at the motel only a couple of hours ago!"

"Well, excuse me for drinking three glasses of orange juice before I left!"

"Fine. We'll stop at the nearest gas station, okay?"

"Noted."

The nearest gas station was suprisingly near. Jack pulled to a stop in the parking lot. Kate hastily got off of the bike, making a mad dash to the bathroom in the gas station. Jack figured he had nothing better to do than check out the inside. He casually sauntered into the gas station, taking a good look at the scenery.

Although there wasn't much to really look at besides a slushie machine and the cashier, Jack noticed a poster with an alien on it. He looked at it, and it read, "Welcome to the most visited area by the Third Kind in the USA!"

_'Heh, I don't doubt it was Nitrous Oxide stopping by for a few tests and racing tips, _he thought. _Alright, enough admiring my surroundings. I'm gonna make small talk with that cashier girl.'_

Just as Jack started to walk over to the desk, he felt a vibrating in his pocket. He reached his hand into his pocket to find a small device with a button, a speaker, and a small screen. He suspected that this was a type of cell phone, walkie-talkie, or something like that. He groaned, and walked outside. He held the button, and said, "Hello?"

"Crash!"

"Coco?"

"Oh, thank God you made it there okay!"

"What do you want? I don't know how long I have to be alone."

"Well, I was just checking to see if you got the girl."

"'The girl', Kate, is fine, believe me."

"Any signs of that yellow screw-ball?"

"Hm... nope. He's in some sort of space station, I bet."

"Yeah. Does she know that you're a..."

"Bandicoot? No. Thanks to your helmet, and my most excellent resourcefulness, the girl knows me as Jack, a former biker who works for the American government."

She snickered. "Well, 'Jack', I should be going. Don't embarrass yourself too much okay?"

"Heh-heh-heh. At least I don't shove my face in front of a computer instead of getting out and relishing what's left of this Uka-forsaken planet that would be doomed if I didn't live on it!" he said in one breath.

"You don't deserve the things I do for you!"

"What? What's that? Krrrr... You're...Krrrrrrrr...Breaking up...Krrrr..."

"Crash!"

"Coc...Krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..." He released his grip on the black button.

"Jack!" yelled a female's voice.

"What?" he replied, seeing that it was Kate.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Uh... Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

"N. Gin, prepare the ship. I'm ready to leave and end that miserable bandicoot's life," said none other than Cortex.

"Yes, sir. The airship is prepared for take-off." replied the short henchman, N. Gin.

"Very good, N. Gin. Now, prove useful and go get the robots."

"Yes, Doctor."

After N. Gin had left to go and retrieve the ten robots that Cortex had prepared, Cotrex decided to get inside of the ship.

"That blasted bandicoot won't stand a chance against her. By then, he will have grown attached, making him weak. I've got 'em both in my grasp."

* * *

Jack was thinking. _'You know, I'm going to need some sort of weoponry to fight that tard. Some sort of way to defend Kate and I. I mean, usually, I would be able to burst into my tornado-like form, but around here, I don't think that would be to grand of a plan. So, where the heck am I going to find a a gun store in the middle of the desert?'_

He saw a small area of cluttered buildings about a mile from where he was driving. He slowed the speed of his bike, and took a look at the town. He noticed a salon, a police station, and- just as fate would have it, he saw a firearms shop.

He grinned maliciously at the irony. _'Well, it looks like this litlle adventure is going to be chucked full of ironic situations, I suppose,' _he thought.

Jack parked next to the shop. "Okay, it looks like we're stopping here, Kate. We're going in."

"The... gunstore? Why would we need to go in there?" she asked.

"Take a wild guess."

Kate just rolled her eyes. Jack pressed the small button on the back of his helmet, causing the visor to duo walked inside of the small shop, to find that it was kind of musty, run-down store that sold hunting supplies.

"Great. It's not like I'm hunting deer," he muttered.

Suddenly, a man that seemed to be in his late 50's walked in. He appeared to be Latino, with long, dark brown hair. His face seemed worn in wrinkles, and he had a mustache that was tinted grey with age. He had a few battle scars scattered all over his face. He had a thick sword wedged into a pocket attached to his belt, and he wore a black tank-top and khaki pants. Another thing Jack noticed that he had a necklace with animal teeth.

Kate leaned towards her new friend. "I could swear I've seen this guy in a movie or something."

"May I help you?" said the man in an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, I was looking forward to buying a couple of guns or something here," Jack replied. Kate's eyebrows raised so high, they imitated the St. Louis Arch. _'Well, what else would we be doing in a gunstore?'_, she thought.

The man's mood instantly changed. "Ha! So, you're a gunsman, yes? Well, in that case I have many choices for you!" Jack shook his head, trying to pass off that he was actually interested in what the guy had to say.

"C'mere, you two." the man said. Jack and Kate did as told, and went to where he was standing by a compound bow. "This here, is my finest bow. It can shoot very far, and the arrows hit with the pressure of 85 pounds. She's very nice, eh?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't really interest me. Got anything else, mate?" Jack asked.

"Yes! Call me Machete. Now, perhaps you'd be interested in this." Machete walked over to a shotgun hanging on two nails. "Now, this is my best shotgun. Double-barrel, both being an inch in diameter. It fires silver bullets-"

"Hey, uh, Machete, I'm not really into in a shotgun." Jack interupted.

Machete sighed. "Look, amigo, what exactly **are** you into?"

"Well, I really think something like a pistol would be nice."

"How about some hunting knives? The are extremely efficient in killing and skinning-"

"Sorry, but I'm in need of some other guns. C'mon, Kate, Let's go to some other gun store."

Machete was in need of some cash, so he became desperate. "Fine. I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice."

Jack instantly became interested.

"I have a place in the back. Follow me."

Jack looked at Kate, and she did the same. They reluctantly followed him, and eventually they were in a white room.

"Alright, buddy. This is where I keep extra guns. The items here range from pistols to bazookas and rocket launchers." Machete said.

"Sounds more like the black market to me." Kate muttered.

"That's because it is, little girl!" Machete exclaimed. She grimaced.

"So, I guess I could use a pistol, now." Jack said.

"Ah, yes. There is the revolver with a nice 15 millimeter diameter. I also have a twin to make it a pair. We also have stub-nosed revolvers. And, we have clips in silver and black. Any of these to your liking, buddy?"

"Yeah... I think I'll take the a clip, an S&W 908 if you'd please, and four things of ammo. By the way, call me Jack." As he thought about it, maybe that name wasn't such a good choice. Who knew how long he would be trapped in this fiasco?

"Jack; what a fine name. Now, I would sell you the pistol and the ammo for around $600 total. But today, since you've been my first customer in months, I will sell everything you buy seventy-five percent off. Sound good?"

"Sounds like you've got a deal, Machete!"

"So, would you like anything else?" Machete asked.

"Yeah... Do you have any machine guns?"

"Yes I do! I have an Uzi with two packs of ammo holding 300 bullets each. The gun also come with a free set of 200 bullets. Would you like it?"

"Absolutely. I could use that gun. The price?"

"$399.99 total."

"I'll take it! You have grenades, right?"

"Yes; I have smoke bombs, sleeping gas, regular explosives, what do you need?"

"Hmm... I'll take two smoke bombs, and five explosives."

"Okay, Jack. That will do just fine." Machete looked at the girl standing a few feet away from Jack, admiring a pink shotgun. "Would the girl like a shotgun?"

Kate whirred around at the mention of, "the girl." "What? But I don't even know how to use a freaking gun!" she said.

"Kate, relax," Jack said as he turned around to face her. "I got this under control."

"Oh really?" she muttered.

"She'll take the gun," Jack said to Machete. Kate stood there, looking at them with a bemused look on her face. "So, I think I'm about done here."

Machete realized that this guy was into buying almost anything, so he decided to get his good gun out. "Wait a minute. I have a special gun in the back."

Jack raised his eyebrows in little enthusiasm, although it couldn't be seen.

After about a couple minutes, he got bored and decided to follow to where Machete went. Just as he hit the door, Machete was there, glaring at Jack, who just happened to be shorter.

"Uh, sorry about that, mate," he consoled. Machete only grunted in response, and moved past Jack.

"Now, this gun is the most powerful gun in my entire shop. It is better in aim, shooting, and much, much more." Macheted persuaded. The gun was large, and was colored a brilliant chrome. It had a bright green orb attached to it, and pink lights were scattered along the barrel. He'd never seen this kind of gun before.

"So, uh, what do you call that gun?" Jack asked.

"I call her _Carmelia._ She has done much good to me, so if you are willing to buy her, take good care of 'er."

"Well, where'd you get this, '_Carmelia_?' " Jack asked.

Machete paused, and leaned towards the two. "Do either of you to believe in... Aliens?"

Kate started to snicker, but was yielded when Jack replied, "Yeah. Seen one myself."

_'Ugh. I live with bafoons', _she thought.

"Well, I was abducted by aliens 20 years ago. I was minding my own business, testing some grenades outside, when all of a sudden, I see the sky getting screwed up. There was what appeared to be a heatwave head straight toward to where I was tossing the grenades. I stared at the thing bewildered. Soon enough, I was engulfed in a green light, and it all went black.

"So as I was starting to wake up, I saw these strange figures leaning over me. They had transparent skin that showed what looked to be a brain, and some other things that I could make out. I saw their golden eyes stare at me in wonder, as if I were some animal. I started to panic, and leaped from the testing table. In my defense, I looked aroung the room for some sort of weapon. Right next to the triangular door, was _Carmelia._ I grabbed onto her and aimed at the aliens. I shouted, ' I'll shoot! ', and they got a fearful look on their faces. I looked around for a way out, and a saw a weird button with alien language on it. I slammed my hand onto it, and bust out the door. To my suprise, I was outside, running down a slope to the ground. When the slope started to retract, I lept onto the ground, and watched in awe as the aliens zoomed to space.

"I told authorities, but I was threated to be arrested for my story being a practical joke. He told me he's heard enough stories of aliens and stuff, and told me to get out. I was humiliated, but I'll never forget the day." Machete finsihed.

"Wow. What a story. So, it would be nice if I could buy the guns now and leave," Jack said.

"Alright. But beware of the freaky stuff out there. You never know what will spring out at you while you're at your weakest," Machete told them as the headed towards the cash register.

"Oh, trust me. I think I've handled enough things in my lifetime to be afraid of aliens. Why do you think I'm buying the guns?" Jack retorted.

Machete glared at Jack, but soon became level again. "So, the total price for everything you've bought today estimates to around $5000. Pay up, amigo."

"Yes, siree." Jack responded, sort of taken aback by Machete's sudden hostility. He reached into his wallet and took out a platinum card, and handed it to the man. He sure hope there was plenty on the card. "Here ya go."

Machete ran the card in to the machine, and smiled once again. "Thank you for your service, Jack! See you around."

Jack paced over to the door, Kate absently observing a deer head mounted on the wall. The bandicoot in disguise offered a shrug. "Not likely, pal."


	4. Fight and Flight

**Odds and Ends: Fight ****_and _****Flight **

_Hey, y'all! It's me, Chicflick! I know the last chapter ended horribly, so I'll try harder on this chapter. And to my readers, I am sorry for not posting this sooner. But the good thing is, I finally figured out how the story will END! I'm not telling, either. HA! By the way, Word is back, so my writing should be better!_

* * *

"So, Jack, where do you plan on taking us this time?" Kate asked unenthusiastically.

"Well, I'm getting tired of Arizona, honestly," he told her.

"How about we get on a plane and fly to some other state?" Kate suggested. Well, she didn't really like Arizona that much either. Screw college; she'd rather see the rest of the country. "I know this airport that's back in Tuba City."

"Hm, an airport, huh? Meh, why not?"

Jack was just about to board his bike, when his bandicoot ears picked up a strange noise. It sounded like... an aircraft.

_'Crap,' _he thought.

"Kate, you need to grab your shotgun."

"What? Why? I told you I don't know how to use a gun!"

"Learn!" he snapped. She was taken rather aback by his sudden assertiveness. She reached into the bag that Machete had given them to carry their guns, and grabbed her pink colored shotgun.

_'Okay, okay. How did the guys in the movies do it?' _she thought nervously. _'Cock it and load it, was that it?'_

As Jack was loading up his Uzi, Kate was struggling to figure out how the gun worked. Jack, being done, grabbed her gun and loaded it. "Careful. These have a good kick." She nodded, feeling helpless. Jack motioned for Kate to kneel behind the bike when he spotted an object appearing into the atmosphere.

When the large purple ship landed, a cloud of dust stirred in the ground, eventually settling back into the earth. The airship was large—sort of indigo colored, might I add—and Jack spotted a large "N" on the side of the oval-shaped aircraft.

Cortex.

"That dunderhead never knows when to stop, does he?" Jack muttered loud enough for Kate to hear it.

"What dunderhead? Oh, crap. It's that yellow oaf again, isn't it?" she groaned.

Jack ignored her, but she kind of expected it since he was so concentrated on the aircraft. Speaking of, the ship's small door slowly opened, revealing the short man in the lab coat; Cortex himself.

* * *

Cortex looked straight at the motorcycle, and saw he was in gunpoint. He smiled crookedly, revealing his even more crooked teeth.

"Well, it's seems the little ones got some toys," he shouted so they could here it.

"Yeah, well, go screw yourself, you jackwagon!" Kate shouted before Jack could even retaliate.

"Nice," Jack told her.

Although that kind of talk would usually infuriate him, Cortex just reminded himself of the purpose the girl would serve in helping him rule this dirtball of a planet. "You are both a nuisance, but today I will be taking the girl from you, you little orange rodent," Cortex shouted.

_'Marsupial,' _Jack thought, irritated at the fact that everyone thought bandicoots were rodents.

Jack got back to the real world when Cortex started talking. "You see, I have brought reinforcements to kill you, Crash, and capture that girl."

"I have a name you know!" Kate shouted.

"Hm. Yes, well, that name will be changed when you are mine," Cortex muttered under his breath. "N. Gin! Send out the robots!" he barked. Just as it was said, a couple of seconds later a small cluster of blue-tinted, bulky robots walked out of the ship and approached the motorbike, but halted about 10 yards from it.

Just as Cortex started walking up to the entrance, he commanded the robots. "Kill him."

Jack grinned wide, ready for the onslaught to begin. Although they were ready, the machines were still motionless. Jack began to grow curious, and slowly stood up; only to have a bullet just wiz past his ear. He kneeled to the ground again, seeing bullets start to fly above their heads.

"Close one, 'ey Jack?" Kate said to him.

"I've been through closer shaves, believe me," he replied. Although Jack wasn't one to become frantic while being shot at, he wasn't exactly excited to be used for target practice. It brought back the memory of how he first met Pinstripe. That rat was firing at him like a machine turret gone mad, and all Crash (Jack) had to defend himself with was a small couch to hide behind. Not exactly a way to make a first impression.

"Okay, Kate. I'm not sure how long this motorcycle can withstand the shooting. We have to move," Jack ordered.

"But we'll get shot!" Kate protested.

"Give me a grenade. It will cause a distraction, hopefully."

Kate did as told, and Jack ripped the small screw out using his teeth, and very carefully rose to the seat, and chucked the bomb at the robots. It exploded on contact, destroying at least the three nearest to the explosion. The others were slightly dazed, if robots could be dazed. Jack quickly grabbed Kate and the bag and sped of to the side of Machete's store. There, there was a dumpster filled with trash, which Jack assumed would provide a great shield.

The head robot, which was purple and larger than the rest, looked around for a sense of heat. They only saw the hot blotch in the sky, the sun, and certain warm spots on the ground. "Directive has disappeared. N-Bots assemble."

"Yes Alpha," they replied in unison.

They gathered, and formed a small battle position; the followers in two rows of three, and the Alpha aligned in the middle row. "N-Bots, attack."

Without wasting a second, they—excluding the Alpha—flew into the sky with their built-in jet packs. One of them spotted Jack, who was looking at them with a shocked face. "Directive. Fi—"

Kate, who had just learned how to fire her shotgun, shot the head clean off of the robot. Jack looked at her, surprised. Even she had the same astonished look on her face. Hey, at least she wasn't as helpless as before.

"Jack!" Kate shouted. He snapped back into reality when he realized he was staring at her. "Look out!"

He turned around to see a robot heading straight towards them. _'Crap,' _he thought. He fired his gun at it, watching as bullets would tear holes through it at lightning speed. The N-Bot hit the ground, but held up a cannon arm to fire. Jack shot it off using the Uzi, and then severed its head by doing the same.

"Five down. Time to bring out _Carmelia_," Jack said aloud. He reached into the bag and grabbed the chrome weapon. He gripped the trigger, pulling it back to feel a burst of green energy fly straight towards the group of flying robots, destroying two of them. The others were slightly alarmed. The two left turned to face Jack.

Jack decided to see what the pink circles lined on the barrel did, so he pressed it, and to his surprise, it sank in. They were buttons. Jack pulled the trigger again, and this time, a white beam shot out, melting the three completely in half.

"Sweet," Jack mumbled.

"I take it you love that gun now, am I right?" Kate said.

"Wait, we have one left," Jack said.

Spoken N-Bot, Alpha, was approaching the dumpster. "Directive. You are afraid to fight in person."

"What? Aw, heck no. I know you're not calling me a coward, mate," Jack said, standing up.

"Directive. You are hiding behind the human trash deposit. Your actions clearly state that you are afraid to fight me."

"Okay, now you are just a downright stupid robot, 'Alpha'. So tell me, you retarded chunk of metal. What exactly is your mission here?"

"Mission is to destroy Crash Bandicoot and capture the human girl, Kate Clark."

"And why, pray tell?"

"Crash Bandicoot is a defiant. Kate Clark is needed for the use of Master Neo Cortex's plan of world domination. Crash Bandicoot, prepare to die." The N-Bot held up its large cannon arm and fired at him. Jack (who was hoping Kate didn't ask about Crash Bandicoot) dodged the bullets with ease, having agility on his side.

Without wasting a moment, he tried shooting the robot. But, to Jack's misfortune, the robot had a freaking deflector shield, which shot the beam right back at Jack. He didn't expect it, so he tried to dodge. The heat beam missed the important stuff, but it grazed his arm, totally melting through his jacket, and singeing his skin and fur.

_'That HURTS!' _he thought. Grabbing his arm and wincing in pain, he remembered that he was in the middle of a battle. Thinking of how he could destroy the robot and dodging the bullets at the same time, he pressed another one of the six buttons on the barrel. When he fired this time, small energy bullets came out, and fired back at him. Well, that one won't work.

Jack suddenly felt a pain in his right leg, and saw a hole punctured into his jeans. Now, it was starting to hurt to run. Starting to run with a limp, Jack pressed another button, aimed at the robot and fired. This time, the robot was engulfed in a blue sphere, and the sphere shrank and shrank until nothing was left.

"Huh. Pretty cool," he muttered.

He could easily hear Cortex's screams of rage with the ship. Jack started to snicker. As the other-worldly aircraft began to take off, Jack heard gunfire from behind. Machete was pointing one of his many shotguns at the ship. "Eat bullets, you alien son of a—"

He was unheard from the rest, because the take-off was too loud. Machete just flipped it the bird and turned around, about to head back into his store.

"Hey, thanks, Machete!" Jack shouted.

"Eh," Machete said loud enough for Jack to hear. Then he muttered, "Pssh. Americans."

_'Australian, thank you very much,'_ Jack thought.

* * *

Kate got up from her sanctuary behind the dumpster and walked over to Jack. "Nicely done, young Padowan."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm used to it. Although I'm not used to using guns..." he trailed off.

"What? How the heck do you operate a shotgun and a freaking alien gun and NOT know how to use them?"

"Meh. I improvise."

Kate just stood there, dumbfounded. Jack was heading over to his bike to check the collateral damage, but a strike of sudden pain rushed up his leg. "Gah!" he shouted in pain. He remembered he had a bullet in his leg, and when a gust of wind blew against his burnt arm, he nearly thought it was sizzling.

"What's wrong?" Kate asked.

"Uh..." he winced when he took another step towards his bike."Um, I uh... Nah, forget about it."

Kate started to notice he started to walk with a limp, and she assumed that a stray bullet had torn through his leg. "You got shot, didn't you?"

"I said forget about it," he said a little louder.

"Well, Jack, if we don't treat it, it could get infected,"

"Meh. It'll go away—" he started, but winced again when his leg throbbed in pain. Kate rolled her eyes at his ignorance, and ran over to help support himself by letting him put an arm around her shoulders. Jack wasn't expecting this, but decided it was faster than limping to his motorcycle. "Thanks," he told her.

"Don't mention it," Kate replied with a smile. Jack returned the smile, but it couldn't be seen due to his helmet.

Getting on his motorcycle and Kate doing the same, he reached down to the wound in his leg, and (secretly) using his small retractable claws, grasped the bullet. He flinched when the bullet came out, and he tossed it onto the ground. Now the wound was bleeding immensely, and he just ripped a piece off of the white tank-top under his jacket (it was there to prevent chaffing) and wrapped it around his injury.

Sighing in relief, now that that was over, he tried to start the engine to his motorcycle, but it wouldn't start. _'Well, duh, _Jack thought. _'It was practically destroyed by hundreds of bullets.'_

Groaning, Jack simply covered his face with his hands. "Stupid robots."

"What now?" Kate asked.

"They destroyed my motorcycle," Jack replied.

"Oh... Hey, I think I saw and old one while we were behind the dumpster," Kate suggested.

"Really? Wait, how old?" Crash asked.

"I dunno. I'm not a bike historian," Kate remarked.

Jack ignored her statement, and jogged (in a limp-ish sort of way) to the dumpster. Kate was right. Underneath a large net, there lay a rather old looking motorcycle. Jack, suspecting that the bike was around 10 years old, got on it, and noticed the key was jammed inside the slot. "Thank you, Machete," Jack muttered aloud. He tried started the bike a few times, and thanks to his good luck, it started on the first try.

He figured the reason why it looked so old was because of the desert dust. Wiping the dust off the seat, Jack drove the motorcycle over to his previous one. "Hop on," he said with a mischievous smile.

"Gladly," Kate responded. She knew Jack was stealing, and since she was with him, so was she. _'Hey, my dad's in prison__,__ one of my uncles' is on probation, and my older brother's on parole. What do I have to lose?' _she thought.

Jack reached over to grab the duffle bag, and instructed Kate put the strap around her waist and put the bag in her lap. Kate did as told, and wrapped her arms around Jack's waist. Without wasting another minute squandering, Jack floored it, speeding down the country road.

* * *

As time passed by, Jack sped by a weird formation of four fields. And, just about a mile or two away from the road was a runway, and several planes. "Just my luck," he muttered.

Approaching the small airport, Jack drove into the parking lot available. Parking the bike (that he particularly couldn't care less about), Kate lifted the duffle bag strap from her neck, put it around her left shoulder, and dismounted the bike. Jack followed soon after, giving a bored sigh.

"It's about time we got to leave this place," Jack stated openly. Kate narrowed her eyes at him.

"What's so bad about Arizona?" she asked him.

"Well, personally, I'd prefer a more lush area if you ask me," he replied, unaffected by her glare. Kate just growled, and lighted up when she saw a bald man with a mustache next to a small airplane. "Uncle Gary!"

"Kate! Ah, how is my favorite niece doing?" he greeted, stopping his work.

"Great! I thought you were in Toledo, seeing Grandma," she replied.

"Well, I was about to leave, when they told me that she passed away," he said with a sad tone.

"Oh..."

"Well, I guess she's in a better place, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So, enough about me, what is my little girl doing at this here airport?"

"Well, I need to get out of Arizona. I'm moving on."

"Aw, my little Kate is growing up. Well, where do you need to go?"

Kate, who knew she wasn't in charge of that decision, became silent. Jack knew it was time to speak. "Hm… Kate, any suggestions?"

"What about L.A.?" she said.

"Too crowded for me," he said. "Hey, Kate, get in the plane. I'll talk to your uncle."

Kate rolled her eyes and did as told. Jack walked up to the rather stout man. "So, how far can this little aircraft take us?"

"Who are you, her boyfriend?" Gary asked.

Jack blushed, and Kate, who heard this, bust out laughing. "Him? My boyfriend? Ha-ha! Uncle Gary, you're funny. No, he's just a friend," she called from the plane.

"Yeah," Jack, who was still partly blushing, mumbled. "So how far can your plane take us?"

"Well, my friend, this plane can take us as far as to another continent. It may not seem like it, but I just fueled her up," Gary said.

"Another continent? You know what; I think I would like to go to Europe. Germany, to be specific."

"Germany? Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright. That will cost about…" he paused to calculate in head the amount. "…about $300. Discounted, because my little girl is with 'ya."

"Done deal." Jack shook hands with Gary, and got on the plane. He sat in the seat behind Kate. Her uncle boarded the plane and walked into the cockpit.

"You know, my uncle practically raised me. When my dad went to jail, he was there for me," Kate stated.

"Really?" Jack said, acting as if he cared.

"Yeah… So, where are we going?"

"Germany."

Kate's eyes widened in astonishment. "Germany?"

* * *

_At long last! The next chapter is out! How'd you like the title? I'll work a little faster. I've been living my life, sorry._

_Plus, I just got Internet for the computer I'm working on! So I can download it even faster! As mentioned before, Microsoft Word 2007 is back due to the new Internet connection. _

_The places (well, the towns and roads) are actually existent, to my surprise. I was actually kind of shocked. So, please wait patiently for another chapter of O.a.E.! _

**Next Chapter— Odds and Ends: Wir. Sind Verschraubt. (We. Are Screwed.)**


	5. Wir Sind Verschraubt

**Odds and Ends**

_Wir. Sind Verschraubt. (We. Are Screwed.)_

**A/N:** That was German, just so ya know…'Kay, I'm done.

* * *

Kate sat there, admiring her shotgun. It wasn't so bad. I mean, it was pink, but it kind of fascinated her. She marveled at the jet black barrel, and the pink stock was glimmering by the florescent lights of the cabin.

"Earth to Kate," Jack said, making her jump. He smiled.

"What do you want?" she replied sourly.

"Well, I figured we're going to be here awhile. Do you…" he paused to think. "Do you have a favorite kind of food?"

"Hm. Maybe Mexican. I'm a sucker for taco salad."

"Really? I'd probably have to say that I prefer fruit."

"Fruit? That's it?"

"Well, I don't eat much besides the native fruit in the place I live."

"Really? Where do you live?"

"My accent doesn't give it away?" The chuckled in unison, and Kate sighed.

"So, what do you plan to do in Germany?" she asked.

"I thought we could stick around in the city. Maybe even camp out in the country," he replied.

"Oh. Well, I hope you can speak German."

"That one could be a problem…" he trailed off.

"Great, Jack. We go into a foreign country and you can't even speak its language. Intelligent."

"Well, maybe we can hire a translator," Jack suggested.

"Yeah. Do you have any idea how much one costs?" Kate retorted, and Jack groaned.

"We are screwed."

"Don't you mean, 'Wir sind verschraubt.'?" she asked.

"What?"

"That was German, stupid!"

"What? You can speak German? Well, why didn't you tell me?"

"Sort of. I've taken a course in college last semester. And, besides, I wanted to see if you'd freak out."

"I do not freak out, okay?"

"Whatever."

"Cool. Now we won't have to walk the streets of Germany sounding like a couple of English idiots."

"Jack."

"What?"

"I'm sure a lot of people can speak English."

"…Oh."

* * *

It became creepily quiet after that conversation. It was starting to dusk, and Kate had fallen asleep. Jack, hearing his stomach growl in hunger, and rose from the leather seat. Making his way to the back, he found a small, dark storage unit, and a small refrigerator in the midst of it.

Curious, Jack crept over to the fridge, and opened it. There was a box of chicken and a few bottles of water and soda. Jack thought that Gary, the pilot, wouldn't miss his chicken and a bottle of pop so much, so he grabbed the latter and set it on top of the fridge, and grabbing the former soon after.

Taking his helmet off for the second time since who knows when, he took in a breath of fresh air. His façade was gone; Jack became the good ol' Crash Bandicoot once again.

The orange anthro sat on a nearby crate and heartily devoured his meal.

Gary sighed. His little girl was growing up so fast. She was already in college for crying out loud! He saw that they were directly over the German border. He decided that, since Jack did not give an exact location, he would enter Berlin, Germany. He coughed, and became slightly thirsty. Setting a course for Berlin, he turned on the auto pilot and left the cockpit.

Walking to the back of the plane, he saw Kate sleeping. He smiled and continued to walk back into the small storage unit so he could grab a soda. But what he didn't notice that a certain Jack was missing.

All he had to do was grab and turn the handle and walk into the room.

* * *

Crash had frozen solid. Standing in front of him was Kate's Uncle Gary. He had absolutely no time to react when the handle turned and opened, and in stepped the man. He had a chicken leg in hand that was in the process of being consumed.

"Uh… Hi?" said the bandicoot. Crash began to wonder what Gary would do when he started rubbing his eyes. Seeing that his vision was fine, Gary stared at Crash for another two seconds and fainted. Crash, realizing that this was the only pilot — wait, he wasn't the only pilot. He had driven a plane before.

Setting the chicken back in the box, placing the box back into the fridge, and taking a swig of his soda, he got to his feet and walked into the cabin, and he gently closed the door to the storage unit. When he came into the cabin, he tip-toed past Kate, careful not to wake her up. Jack walked into the cockpit and sighed in relief.

"Crap, I forgot my helmet." He dashed back, again being careful not to wake the sleeping red head, and almost tripped over Gary's out-cold form. He hastily snatched his helmet, and made his way into the cockpit once again.

"Man. Now let's see what we have here…" he trailed off before he realized that the controls were way more advanced. He felt his stomach do a flip. Thinking rashly, he grasped onto the wheel of the plane and switched off the auto pilot. The plane began to nose-dive towards the Earth far below.

Kate was knocked nearly ten feet into the air, and was really surprised when she found herself on the other side of the cabin. "Ugh… Ow, my head hurts. I'm gonna go see what's goin' on," she stated openly. For all she knew, it was a little turbulence. But she didn't wake up on time to find that the plane had descended nearly 100 feet.

She rubbed her head, grasped the handle that led into the cabin, and turned it. "Jack?"

Said turned around to see a frozen Kate, holding her head with one hand and the door handle in the other. "Eh-heh… How's it going cupcake?" he asked sheepishly.

Kate, bewildered, walked over and sat into the co-pilot's seat. "Why… the HECK are YOU flying the freaking plane?"

"Well, your dearest Uncle Gary had some business to take care of in the back, and when the plane went through a little turbulence, he hit that half-bald head of his," he lied.

"Is he okay?" Kate asked worriedly.

"He's fine, but I could use a blanket. It's cold up here," he scoffed.

"Do you even know how to fly the plane?"

"Do I know?—well, I'll have you know that I've flown plenty of air-crafts in my lifetime," he replied in a defensive manner.

"Sure you have. So, Mr. Pilot, do you know where we're going?" Kate feigned. Jack felt like a cat on a hot tin roof.

"No," he confessed. Kate groaned.

"Great. Just **freaking **great. I'm stuck on a plane with a 'pilot' who doesn't know where the heck he's going or what the heck he's even doing," she said.

"Me?" Jack asked innocently.

"No, my unconscious uncle in the storage room."

"Now, now. Let's not get our panties in a twist." He immediately felt a punch to his arm. "OW! What the hell?"

"Shut up."

* * *

It became eerily quiet after that. Kate's uncle was STILL unconscious to their dismay. And just when things seem to work out, a beeping in the cockpit caught Jack's attention.

"What's that?" Kate asked apathetically.

"Well, it appears as if we are low in fuel," Jack responded.

"Great. Now I'm gonna die with you. As if things couldn't get better. No, really; what's it say?"

"Oh, if the 'E' on the fuel gauge means that 'Everything's all hunky-dory', I guess we don't have to worry about it."

"WHAT? YOU WERE SERIOUS? OH MY GOSH, WE'RE GONNA CRASH!" she yelled frantically, which was extremely odd for her.

'_Don't worry,' _Jack thought. _'Crash is not gonna die from any kind of crash, anytime soon.'_ Switching to auto-pilot, he quickly got up from the seat and began to search the plane for something that could help him with his current predicament.

Searching through the storage unit first, he noticed two backpacks side by side. He jogged over; yep, they were definitely parachutes. Grinning, he grabbed them, but remembered Gary.

'_Crap,'_ he thought. Two parachutes; three people. Well, he could always say he "forgot", but then again, Kate would never forgive him for letting her uncle die in a hurtling aircraft.

Cursing to himself, he finally devised a plan. He tried his very best to awaken Gary, but to no avail. Cursing again, he got into the small fridge, and poured a bottle of water on the man.

"AH!" Gary exclaimed.

"Mornin', Sleeping Beauty!" Jack chided.

"What the… Wait… Wasn't there this weird half-human, half-… animal thing in here?" he asked.

"You must've had a pretty weird dream, there, Gary! I didn't see anything," he persuaded. But, the dream was way to realistic to him, thus Gary furrowed his brow and started to stare at Jack.

But then it struck him. "Who's driving the plane?" Gary shouted.

"Relax. I switched it back into auto when I got up."

"Wait, have you been driving the plane?"

"Yep, but this is definitely not a time for questions. We're low on fuel."

"Dagnabbit! I knew I shoulda packed extra. Gimme a parachute."

"Okay." Jacked forked over the parachute, and ran out of the storage unit and into the cockpit. Jack found Kate grasping onto the seat as if it were life support. "Well, it's a good thing to see you so calm in intense situations such as this."

"This is no time to be cracking jokes, Jack," she spat.

"Alright, well, it seems as if I have found a parachute to—"

He was interrupted by Gary, who was standing in front of the open airplane door. "Alright, kiddies! See you on the ground!" He leapt, leaving Jack and Kate baffled.

Jack quickly gathered his senses, and started to put on the chute pack. "What? Where's my parachute?" Kate fretted.

"Don't worry, babe. I's gots myself's a plan," he reckoned, in terrible grammar. Kate was about to scold him severely for calling her "babe", but decided against it.

Jack, almost suddenly, grabbed her, thrust her to his chest, and clipped her onto his parachute. "Wait, what are you—"she started.

"You wanna get off this thing, don't you?" he replied coolly. He led her to the open door of the plane. Kate looked at how far up they were, and felt petrified. The thing is, she had a small fear of heights.

"No! There is no freaking way I'm jumping!" she shouted over the wind.

"Like you have a choice!" he hollered back, and leapt.

* * *

As the two went spiraling down to the green earth below, Jack tried to find the string to activate the parachute. He could barely concentrate over Kate's screaming. "Kate, could you be quiet?"

Eventually, his hand came in contact with the string, and he yanked. The parachute fluttered from the backpack, and abruptly slowed the falling duo. Kate's yells ceased, to Jack's good fortune.

"Man, Kate. Could you **not** be such a girl?" he asked.

"Well, excuse me, but **you** weren't the one forced out of a plane!" she snapped. Jack laughed.

"Would you've rather went with the plane?" They heard a loud explosion as they were illuminated in an orange-yellow light. Kate silenced.

After a solid five minutes, they finally touched the ground with a _thud._ Kate, who was on top of the heap, quickly released herself from the binding. She groaned, and turned her body around to the right—only to meet Jack's face. Their eyes were just mere inches apart. "Howdy," Jack greeted arrogantly. Kate's eye's widened, and she shoved him away.

"Jerk," she spat. She got to her feet, and dusted herself off.

"Hey. I can't help who I am," he retorted. "Besides, we should probably get moving."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go," she said, and began walking down the dirt path. Jack got up, shook himself, and followed.

About a mile away, Gary was hanging from a tree by his parachute. "Jack? Kate? Anyone?" he called. He simply hung there, limp as driftwood.

"Jack? Kate? Anybody! Help me down from here!" he shouted. He heard a wolf howl, and he became fearful. "Please?" he muttered. Only a couple minutes later, the strings snapped from holding the stout man for so long. Gary yelped, but got to his feet. Looking around for anything, he walked off.

As the two came closer to a heavily populated city, Jack read the billboard sign aloud—which conveniently had an English translation. "'Welcome to Berlin.' "

"The country's capital!" Kate gasped. "Do you plan on going there?"

"Well, we're in Germany. And, I really could use a nice bed for the night. So, why don't we go find a hotel or something?" Kate nodded, and they walked into the bright city lighting up the night sky.

But, Crash remembered something. "DAMMIT! OUR GUNS!" he shouted.

* * *

Well? Okay, sorry I haven't posted anything in a long while. Writer's block is a killed. But, I've been planning, and I've already got the next several chapters mapped out! So, until next time!

Note: The summary has changed! -gives a plate of pancakes to those who noticed-


	6. Just Friends?

**Odds and Ends**

* * *

Jack was about to make a full-fledged run to retrieve his expensive firearms, when he felt a grip on his arm. He looked at it, and found it was Kate's hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked him incredulously.

"I'm going to go and get the guns that I paid good money for!" he said.

"Jack! Think about the risk! Are the guns_ really_ worth dying for?"

He considered it, and sighed. How could he have been so foolish? Desperate to risk his life for a mere gun. He felt ashamed. He never really even liked guns to begin with.

And now here he was, about to rush into an inferno, with this _female _blocking the path. And not just any female. The one girl on this planet that he was destined to be with for who knows how long. He looked at Kate.

"Well, I guess not…"

"Now, we should probably get going, because I'm tired," she told him. He looked back at the plane, and gave a small groan.

'_I can't believe I paid so much money on a gun,' _he thought. His resourcefulness will have to do for now. Jack followed the redhead, and spoke.

"Hey, don't you think the city's just too long of a walk?" he asked. She stopped and turned to look at him.

"_Too long of a walk?_ Jeez, you're the laziest person I've ever met."

"Heh. Yep, they don't get much better than me."

"And where do you suppose we sleep, hm?"

* * *

Kate situated herself into a more comfortable position. Grass wasn't exactly a Tempur-Pedic king-size. "I can't believe I let you talk me into sleeping out in the country."

"You'll get used to it," Jack smiled while folding his arms behind his head. Kate gave him a smirk.

"What, you mean I _have_ to? Pfft. **Great.**"

She rolled to her side, facing away from him, and folded her arms. Kate let out a long sigh, and actually saw a puff of mist evaporate from her mouth. "This… Sucks."

"And what would that be, my dear?" Jack asked, still looking at the sky.

"I'm freezing, I'm sleeping on the ground, _and_ I'm hungry. The hermit life, I suppose," she replied when bringing up her knees to her chest. Jack felt a pang of guilt.

"Freezing, huh?" He mulled it over. "Well, you can always come over here, I suppose. Friendly gesture."

Kate rolled over again and sat up. "You mean _cuddle_?" Jack wasn't really expecting this, and was at loss of words.

"Uh, well, you know…" Kate giggled and crawled over him.

"If it means warmth." She packed herself tightly next to her friend, and let out a sigh.

"Better?" Jack asked.

"A little." Jack again considered her answer. She was just a _little_ warmer, while he was just fine. Well, fur makes up for that, even with the jacket. He could always let her wear it, but that would expose the fur on his arms. But, there was always the white tank-top, so she wouldn't see any of the fur on his chest.

Well, he didn't see a major problem with it as long as his helmet stayed on, so Jack spoke. "Well, you can always use my leather jacket."

Kate furrowed her brow. "But won't you get cold?"

"Nah. I have thick skin. It would take a little bit more than a night in the German autumn to freeze this Aussie," Jack joked, sitting up and slipping the jacket off. Kate couldn't help but notice how dark he looked, practically orange. But he was probably just tanned, considering where he originated.

Jack handed the thick leather material to his comrade, and she offered a small grin. "Thanks," she said while pushing her arms through the jacket.

"Don't mention it. It's not like I **want** you to catch pneumonia." Jack flew back into the soft German soil, spreading his arms out. Kate lay back, and without realizing it, had rested her head on Jack's arm. The duo shifted a bit to comfort themselves, and they sighed in unison.

Jack was the first to fill the silence. "You know Kate, if you look really close at the stars; you can see some of them twinkling."

Kate squinted her eyes and stared up at the sky. "Yeah. You know, each star is a sun, with little planets circling them in other galaxies."

"_Noo_," he remarked sarcastically. "I thought they were fairies."

"Oh, shut up," she said, while failing to stifle a laugh.

It was quiet for another moment. Kate's eye caught a glimpse of a sudden light zooming across the sky. "Wow. It's been forever since I've seen a shooting star."

"Make a wish," Jack chuckled. Kate was wrapped up in her thoughts of the past. "What'd you wish for?"

"Now if I tell you, it won't come true."

"Aw, c'mon. I don't even believe in the hogwash anyway."

Kate snickered. "Well, I didn't wish for anything."

"Well, for the good ol' fun of it, I wished that maybe, for once, I could live a normal life. It seems as if someone always needs saving, you know?"

"Seems our 'hero' needs a break," Kate retorted.

"Eh, life wouldn't be as fun, though, without a little action packed into the mix."

"What, you mean Cortex trying to kill us?"

"Well, kill me, capture you. But, yeah, pretty much."

"You are a nut."

He yawned. "The nuttiest."

* * *

Jack groaned. He was being blinded by the sun of morning, shining its light mercilessly upon his eyelids. He blinked a few times and took in a deep breath. The fact remained the same: he didn't want to wake up. But, he had to eventually, so he could get moving.

It then occurred to him that he never really had a plan on what to do with Kate. He thought of taking her to live with him on N. Sanity, but she might not want to. Plus, if Cortex decided to raid the place, his family could get hurt.

He needed to find a safe place for Kate to stay, somewhere where Cortex wouldn't find her, or wouldn't be able to get her. And right now, the only place that was, was with Jack. Back to square one.

Jack wouldn't admit that he actually liked being around Kate, but he also yearned for home, where his precious Wumpa fruit awaited him, along with his favorite tree. He would do anything to taste that succulent, mouth-watering fruit that pleased him so. It called out to him, begged him to be eaten.

Jack heard a large growl, and could swear it was a wild animal, but it turned out to be his stomach. He was starved, and he was pretty sure that if he didn't get a decent meal soon, he'd probably double over and die.

He slowly sat up, careful not to awaken the sleeping Kate, and he got to his feet. He couldn't just leave her there. But if he didn't do something about his hunger, he'd probably faint. Well, he was pretty sure Kate would be out for a while yet, so he was sure he could make it back with food for the both of them.

Jack walked off into the city of Berlin. It took some time, but eventually he was in the depths of concrete. He saw endless quantities of restaurants and grocery stores, and he didn't know where to start. He caught a glimpse of a fast food restaurant labeled McDonald's, and he chose that place to go.

He patiently waited in line to order the food, and he took a deep breath of the air. It smelt like _food_. His stomach growled again, this time pain roared with it. Jack winced, and crossed his arms. He didn't like the feeling of hunger raking at his innards.

At long last, it was his turn to order. The only thing he could understand on the menu was the numbers and the pictures next to them, and that was good enough. "I'll have the number 13 (Angus Deluxe) and uh… the nugget lookin' things."

The cashier looked at him oddly, but nevertheless punched in his order. She readied her voice, and spoke. "What would you like to drink?" she asked in a heavy German accent.

"…Water." Jack didn't understand the soda names either.

"Would that be all?"

"Um… Yeah."

"Alright. We'll have your order in a moment."

Jack sighed, feeling another rumble in his stomach. _'Shut up,'_ he told his stomach mentally, _'I hear you, alright?'_ After what seemed five minutes, the cashier came back with paper bags loaded with his order.

"Alright, here's your order," she said.

"Thanks." Jack quickly took the bags and scanned a credit card. "You're a diamond, mate. You don't know what a great deed you've just done."

She blushed. "Hehe… Thank you sir. Have a great day."

Jack began to walk away and nodded. "Let's hope so, shall we?" He didn't pay any mind to the stares as he walked past the line leading out. They either were curious about his answer to the cashier, or the fact that his "skin" was rather orange. He'd left his leather jacket with Kate, and his furry arms were exposed. But, to his fortune, his fur was sleek, so it did appear as orange skin.

Jack walked through the crowded streets, holding the bags of food with pride. He was in the country fields once again, though, and he embraced the fresher air. He wasn't exactly a fan of cities. They were too crowded and there were just enough scum balls to fill the sewers full. Bless the open space of the German fields.

Jack sat on a rock just a mere 30 yards from where Kate was left. He put down the bags, and heaved a sigh.

"It's not like I can eat with a helmet on." He took off the jet black helmet and took in a deep breath. "The fact remains that I'm a bandicoot walking among humans, but for now, I'm going to do something about this hunger problem."

Crash picked up a bag and looked inside. It smelled so good he had to refrain from shredding it apart. He scooped out the large burger encased in cardboard, opened up the box, and took a whiff. "Ah… The most beautiful thing I've ever smelt."

Another wrenching pain shot through his stomach, telling him to eat the thing already. Without wasting another second, Crash took a large bite of the sandwich. It was delicious. It was unlike anything he'd eaten before, and was delicious.

Crash knew that this was the second time he'd eaten meat, and he probably wouldn't do it much often. So he savored the greasy burger, enjoying every bite with a hungry passion.

* * *

Kate stirred. She rolled over to her side with a groan. "Mm… Ngh… Jack?" She opened her eyes and met the empty space beside her. "Jack?" Kate scanned her surroundings and found nothing useful. "_Now_ where on God's green Earth did that man go?"

She drowsily yawned and stretched, getting to her feet. "Ugh. That's just like him; leaving me here to be mutilated by wolves. Thank you, Jack—whatever your last name is!" she shouted into the sky, irritated.

"You're welcome," a familiar voice said. Jack, who had his helmet back on, was walking up the hill with a satisfied glint in his eye. "I guess I'm crueler than I thought. You see, I brought you a little something," he said, shaking the bag with the McNugget meal he'd ordered for Kate.

Kate looked at him with a look of sudden regret. "Oh…"

"But, I guess 'it's just like me to leave you here to die'… so… Later." He turned around and acted like was going to leave.

"WAIT!"

He grinned in triumph.

"Sorry."

"Apology accepted." He threw the bag to Kate. "And really, darling, you should know me better by now. Would I take you everywhere around with me and bail on you in Germany, of all countries?"

"I guess not." She sniffed. "Hey, are these chicken nuggets?"

"I believe they are."

"Alright! This is my favorite food from McDonald's!"

Jack brought a hand to the back of his neck and rubbed it sort of sheepishly. "Well, lucky guess, I suppose."

"Really? Hm. Weird, huh?"

"Heh. Yeah."

[Insert silent awkward moment here.]

"Well, I'm gonna go eat these by that tree over there."

"You do that."

Kate began walking to the tree, and stopped.

"Hey, did you already eat, or something?"

"Yes, siree. I had myself a rather large burger."

"Oh. Well, okay." She resumed walking towards the lavish tree that still remained green, even though the season ruled that it should've been orange and losing leaves by now. Kate placed herself beneath it, and heaved a sigh.

Jack paced around a bit in thought. He had gotten considerable bored at this action and dug his hand into his pocket. He grasped the object inside, and grinned. "Boy, I'm sure glad I chose to wear these pants!" He slipped his middle finger through the slip knot of the yo-yo, and playfully bounced the toy a few time in the air.

"You gotta enjoy the little things," he grinned when performing "Walk the Dog" on a bare piece of dirt. Kate had finished her meal and was now walking over to her comrade.

"What'cha got there?"

"This, my dear friend, is one of the only things I treasure," he spoke, doing "The Cradle."

"A yo-yo?"

"Not just any yo-yo. _**My**_yo-yo, therefore adding more value to it," Jack retorted when demonstrating "Around the World."

"_Right. _But I will admit; you've got some talent for the toy."

"Toy? Heh, yes, I do suppose." He bounced the spool a few times, and caught it in his hand. "But, you should know that 16th-century hunters in the Philippines used the same theory of the yo-yo as a weapon, to kill prey from beneath them, while they hid nearly 20 feet in the trees above."

Kate was awestruck. "Wow… I didn't really think you knew so much history about a yo-yo."

"Yo-yo, bandalore, incroyable, emigrette, joujou; all the same. But when I first got this dandy thing, I never even imagined it as a weapon. …That is, until I needed a make-shift." He quickly thrust the spool at the paper bag of trash Kate was holding, puncturing it neatly. The spool came back to his grasp with a _zip_, and he raised an eyebrow.

Kate held the bag up so she could examine it, and she gasped. "Whoa…"

"No compliments, please."

"So are you done with your little history lesson?"

Jack grinned. "Yeah, pretty much."

"So what do you suppose we do now?"

"Well, as much as I'd 'love' to stay out in this country, we better get moving." Jack put the yo-yo away.

"Berlin, I assume."

"_No_, China." He headed toward the city once again, and Kate gave a small groan.

"I'm _really _getting tired of your constant sarcasm."

Jack shrugged. "Being cynical is one of my traits. Live with it, Shorty."

Kate growled, and threw a fist at his arm. He yelped. "OW! Again, what the hell?"

"Aw, come on. You know I still love ya."

"Love…?"

Kate realized the word slipped out. "Uh, well, I would always say that to my friends and family, after I'd insult them," she explained. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"I see."

The two walked toward the city. Silence was broken by Jack finally speaking up. "I don't suppose you plan on wearing my jacket for the rest of your natural born life, do you?"

Kate sighed. "No." She slipped her arms out of the leather jacket and handed it Jack.

"Thanks." He put it on and adjusted the collar. "Much better."

* * *

Cortex sat in his lab, deep in thought. "That miserable bandicoot," he mumbled. N. Gin had been busy creating some new technology that would be "useful to the mission." Neo Cortex had the mission all figured out. First, he would capture the girl. Then, he would use her DNA to fuse it with metal, giving her superhuman abilities.

The things she would be able to do were endless. She would have the powers of both man, and machine. She could kill a man with one blow to a vital area, such as the chest or head. It was just so great knowing that this incredible Cyborg would be on _his_ side.

"Doctor Cortex," N. Gin's voice echoed from across the room. "There's something you need to see."

"What is so important that you must interrupt my pondering?" Cortex snapped.

"The device has been activated."

"Alright." Cortex rose from his chair rather neatly, and walked into the lab. "Where is this…'device' of yours?"

N. Gin reached over to the lab table and grabbed a small cube that was no bigger than the human eye. "This is a tracking device, so we can point the two's coordinates on the globe."

"Hm. Show me a demonstration," Cortex demanded, putting a thoughtful finger on his lip. N. Gin pressed a button, and a large, green holographic globe appeared, being nearly thirty times larger than that of the cube. A red light was blinking in the middle of Europe, and N. Gin pointed to the dot.

"That is the location, Doctor."

Cortex narrowed his eyes at the globe. "How do you know?"

"When the bandicoot was fighting against the robots, we retrieved a few traces of his blood. We were able to locate him on the globe by finding his DNA source."

"Interesting. But what about the girl? It's really her we need to find."

"Yes, Doctor. I had that in mind. But the bandicoot should be with her at all times, leading us—"

"To her. Yes, yes. Excellent work, N. Gin. If I paid you, I would double it."

N. Gin made a small sigh, knowing this fact. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Now, how about we send a little friend of ours to pursue the little twerps?" Cortex said upon entering his private quarters, the room he was in previously. "I have just the person in mind."

N. Gin was unsure of who the ally would be, and raised a brow. "Who?"

"Why, our crimson-furred friend who is even more destructive than Crash himself."

"You-you don't mean—"

"I do. If paid, he'll do a fine job of killing Crash, and capturing that inferior redhead."

* * *

**A/N:** So sorry I haven't updated in a long time. I was grounded (FOR A MONTH) and had to restart the chapter about three times. My sincerest apologies.

And, thank you Bandi-Cute for the beautiful picture you drew! You have quite a good interpretation on how Kate looks! I like how she looks similar to female characters from Nightmare Before Christmas or Corpse Bride. Excellent artwork and I promise you I will try to repay you with a scene from one of your stories. Although I don't have a dA, I have another way. It will be posted on my profile when it's finished. Thanks again!

Oh, and I'm going to say this every few chapters.

I accept anonymous reviews, and any kind of review will be appreciated. Well, 'cept for flames. They will be ignored.

Well, that's about it. Until then, I'll keep writing, and you keep reading! Oodles of tootles! :D


	7. The Assassin

**Odds and Ends**

* * *

Coco sat in her room in a pensive position on her bed. Her brother had been gone for nearly a week now, and she no idea when he'd be back. She did, though, thanks to the device, know that he was moving around at a remarkable pace. Three days ago, he'd left Germany to go to Russia, and from what he told her it wasn't easy. Right now, he was in China, in some sort of village.

She began to make her bed. Of course, she'd wanted to come, but she couldn't because she knew that Crash wanted to go on the mission alone. Well, in fact, he hadn't wanted to go at all. He didn't like going out in public. But, nonetheless, he did.

Coco folded her blanket and sighed. He began to talk more and more about that Kate to her over the walkie-talkie device. He'd say things about her "womanly attitude," but end on a good note, saying something about her "unusual talents."

"She's almost as ingenious and quick-witted as me," he'd said to Coco the other day. "In fact, I can't help but say that it's almost…"

"Attractive?" Coco had said.

"No! I was going to say interesting."

Coco's mind back to the present, she sighed. "Why don't you just marry her already?" She gently placed the blanket at the foot of her bed and fluffed her pillow. "That ought to do it."

She heard a knocking on her door. "What is it this time, Crunch?" she shouted in reply.

"It's not Crunch," said the voice from the other side. "May I come in?"

"Sure."

Aku-Aku, the floating witch doctor mask, came in and looked at the blonde bandicoot. "I see you've kept your room clean," he said with a smile.

"Yeah. Boredom's a killer," Coco shrugged.

"I also noticed you cleaned up your brother's room… May I ask as of why?"

Coco became sheepish. "Well, I uh… It was in need of someone to clean it."

"Yes, I suppose. But, you've never cleaned his room before."

"But he's never been _gone_ this long before!"

Aku smiled and looked at the teenaged bandicoot girl before him. "You miss your brother, don't you?"

"No, I don't. His lazy carcass wasn't any help around the house," she replied defensively. "I would be cleaning, and he would point out, _'Hey, you missed a spot '_or _'Lemme help you with that,' _and then he'd walk off!"

"I see. So, you don't miss your brother?"

"Well, he is pretty nice sometimes… And his arrogance kind of grows on you."

"So you miss him?"

"I don't _know!_" she replied, sitting on her bed with a huff. Aku hovered over beside her.

"Coco, it's natural to miss your family, and it's natural to worry over their well being too."

She sighed. "Yeah…"

"And I'm sure he's missing you guys as well."

"Maybe."

"And I know that Crash has been on plenty of missions like this before, and can handle himself."

"Aku?"

"What is it, Coco?"

"You've been watching Dr. Phil again, haven't you?"

The mask sighed. "Dear, I've been around for quite some time, and I have had to give plenty of 'pep talks' before."

She smiled. "I would hug you right now if you had a body."

"Haha, yes, I would do the same," Aku chuckled.

* * *

Crash looked back at the sleeping Kate. She was so sound, and was all tuckered out from the running they did that day. He crawled out of the old-fashioned Chinese window, and climbed onto the ledge. He was going to out alone tonight.

He crept along the ledge and leapt onto the other building. The rain was fierce and was cascading from the sky like a mad torrent of water. Crash slipped and nearly fell off the building, and would've fallen to the ground 30 feet below, if it hadn't been for a shingle jutting up from the roof.

Crash sighed in relief. "That would've been bad." But, the shingle pulled loose, and the bandicoot slid down the slick roof and fell to the ground with a _thud, _landing on his back. He groaned in pain. "Ugh… I spoke too soon."

He slowly rose to his feet, and grimaced. "I hate falling." He was considerable dirty and wet now and he was pretty sure that the mud stains in his fur would take a lot to wash out. He'd left his upper attire at the rental room he and Kate were staying in, and was going bare-chested through the Chinese interior.

It was about time he could be himself.

Crash looked around, seeing that none of the villagers were out and about, and he jogged out of the small village. He went off into a cornfield, rushing past the leaves that brushed and scraped his face as he moved forward at a rapid pace. He was, even through his lazy personality, loving the run he took. It was totally pointless.

"Just they way I like my things," he said aloud with a grin. He reached a clearing, where the entrance to a forest lay, and a large boulder jutting out of the ground. Crash decided to stop here, and rest under a tree for shelter.

He ducked underneath the nearest maple tree, and sat on the dry ground beneath it. Although he was sopping wet, he smiled. Alone time at last.

Crash folded his hands behind his head and slid lower down the trunk. "If only I could sleep as much as I did." His eyes slid shut, and he took in a breath.

* * *

He rested underneath the maple for quite some time, that is, until a _**snap **_in the woods caught his attention. His ears perked up immediately, and he stood as still as ice. The only thing filling the silence was the heavy rain.

Crash furrowed his brow, and dared not to move a muscle. His eyes scanned the dark forest in search of any movement. Nothing. Crash assumed it was probably just some rain that broke a small limb off of a tree, or the wind even.

He turned his head and sighed. He closed his eyes again, and tried to rest some more. But his actions were halted when he saw a shadow dart behind his tree. Crash, wide-eyed and frozen stiff, was now sure that this time, something—or someone—was there.

He furrowed his brow, and brought his knees to his chest. Crash slowly slid up the slick tree trunk, looking to his left in aggression. He clenched his fists, inhaled, and quickly threw himself to the opposite side of the tree.

But there wasn't anyone there.

Crash was perplexed. "Hm. Funny, because I could've sworn—"

Suddenly, he was brought to the ground by brute force from above. Crash gave a grunt as he hit the wet grass on his chest. The heavy weight of another person on his back knocked the wind out of him. "What the—"

The attacker grabbed Crash's muzzle, and held it shut tightly with their gruff, clawed hands. "Shut up, you mongrel." The voice was deep and raspy, but was shockingly similar the Crash's own.

The latter had his eyes shut tight and squirmed to get free. The attacker was on top of Crash, using one knee with his combined body weight to hold the bandicoot down. "You know, I would have thought that you would've put up a damn good fight. You're not as good as you were before."

The voice was in heavy Australian, and was getting annoying. Crash thrust up an elbow, and it made stark contact with his attacker's jaw. When he was able to slip away from the grasp, he tried to get a good look at his attacker.

He was still on the ground, and saw a shadow slowly rise from the ground. A flash of lightning lit up the rainy night, and Crash saw his aggressor. It was an Anthrian, just like him, bearing a muzzle that was cream and his fur was crimson red. He wore a brown leather jacket, and bright blue jeans that were ripped open at the knees and torn at the cuffs.

"Who are you?" Crash asked him. "Do I even know you?" The menace laughed darkly.

"You don't recognize _me_?"

Crash smirked. "Can't say I do right away, but there's a vague familiar vibe coming to me…"

"It was long ago… You might not. But I don't see how you can't recognize your match."

"My… match?"

"I'm a certain crimson bandicoot who knows you just as well as I know myself. After all…" the Anthrian got closer to Crash's face, an evil smile curled upon his lips, a deadly glint in his golden eyes. "…your match happens to be your evil twin from the Tenth Dimension."

Crash furrowed his brow in confusion, but was soon shocked when he realized who he was up against. "Evil Crash Bandicoot… How did you even get here?"

"Oh, please. That was my old name. I go by Nega now, mate," the opposite bandicoot said, snarling upon the word "mate."

"Interesting," Crash said, getting off the ground quickly as he dusted dirt off of himself. "It keeps you from ripping off my name."

Nega bared his sharp canines. Crash only gave a casual grin, and darted to his right. Nega soon gave pursuit, and was quickly behind Crash. He was about to pounce, when the orange-furred bandicoot ducked and performed a sweep kick, knocking his negative self to the ground on his back.

Nega was shocked, and he took a moment to regain himself. Crash looked down at him, and smirked. "Knocked the wind of ya, eh?"

The fallen bandicoot growled deeply, and brought a swift leg to Crash's ankles, knocking _him_ on his back. Nega, now fully recovered, tackled Crash and pinned him down.

"Not so fun, is it pretty boy?" he snarled with malice. Crash met the hard stare of his enemy and spoke.

"What big eyes you have," he smirked. Nega, just as stubborn and cocky, snarled a smile. Crash grinned. "And what big teeth you have."

"Ah, the better to sink them into you with." Crash's smirk quickly vanished, and he squirmed to be free, but his opponent didn't let up. Nega quickly grabbed Crash's throat, and grinned with hatred. "Tonight, you die."

"If I only had a dollar for every time I've heard that," Crash said with a smug look. Nega furrowed his brow and frowned. "I'd be rich."

Nega hadn't realized that he'd let go of Crash's arms, and the latter threw a fist into his aggressor's ribs. Nega tumbled of in pain, and Crash hurried to his feet. He stood and watched Nega get up, holding his left rib and giving a savage look to Crash.

"You little runt," he spoke with a dark tone. "I need to be paid more for this."

"Paid assassin? This is a first. Cortex didn't make you a minion?" Crash gasped in sarcasm.

"Heh. As if. I probably would've killed that yellow bastard if he hadn't offered me over ten million big boys."

Crash whistled. "I'm worth quite a bounty, I'd say. Might as well turn myself in to get the money myself! So what did the job description say?"

"Well, I'm confused as to why she's not around, but I'm paid to kill you, and get her. And Cortex said if one isn't completed… Payment's invalid."

Crash looked at his counterpart with a sneer held high on his face. "Looks like you're gonna leave here broke."

"Dream on, you little shit," Nega cursed, and ran at Crash with a clawed hand held high. It probably wasn't one of his brightest moves, because when he was within striking range, Crash threw a balled fist that hit the crimson bandicoot square in muzzle.

Nega staggered backward with an astonished look held on his face. He gazed at Crash with a toothy grin on his lips. He chuckled a bit, and suddenly collapsed onto the ground, out cold. Crash stared rather dumbly at the unconscious form, and quickly took this as an opportunity.

Crash ran toward the village and didn't slow down. He ran through the corn and straight into the parish. It was beginning to dawn on the distant hills, and Crash was alarmed. The villagers would awaken soon. He rushed to his temporary hut with Kate, and peeked into the window.

* * *

Kate yawned, and stretched. She opened her gray-green eyes, and blinked groggily. "Jack?" she asked. There was only silence and darkness. Kate rubbed her eyes and scanned the room, and there wasn't a sign of life all around the small given establishment. His bed was empty.

"Where does he keep running off to?" Kate looked outside and saw the rain had ceased. But what also caught her eye was something that moved in the window's corner, and was gone. She was puzzled, and crawled out of her bed. What she failed to notice as she started toward the door was her comrade's jacket and helmet on his nightstand.

Kate opened the door and poked her head out and looked at the side of the hut where the window was located, and saw the space devoid of life. She sighed, and stepped outside. The grass was wet and soaked her bare feet, but nonetheless she scoped the house for an unknown presence.

"Jack? Stop being stupid and come here." She searched the side of the hut, looking away from the door. But as soon as she did, she heard it slam shut. Kate was surprised, and jogged over to the door. "Jack! Let me in!"

She tried opening it, and found it locked. She groaned in irritation, not wanting to be caught in the rain if it started again. "Open the damn door!" she yelled as she pounded her fists on it. She heard rustling from behind, and turned. An elder Chinese woman was looking at her in curiosity. Kate sighed.

"I was locked out."

"Ah… So, is young man boyfriend?" the lady asked, knowing just enough English to communicate. Kate held a smirk on her lips.

"Like I would want this Australian buffoon for a lover."

"Hurtful."

Kate turned her head to the doorway and saw Jack looking at her with a forged offended face. "What was that all about?" she asked.

Jack was still aware of the aggressor from earlier, and spoke. "We have to leave. Now."

"Wha—"she began, but Jack quickly grabbed her and picked her up bridal style. Kate was at loss of words because of her sudden shock. He ran toward a cart filled with hay that was led by two mules, and laid Kate inside.

"Stay."

"What the—I'm not a freaking dog! What's going on?" she asked irately. Jack only sat in the "driver's seat" of the cart, and grabbed the reins.

"Mush!" he yelled, and he snapped the reins. The mules gave a few snorts and squeaks before running off down a dirt path. Kate was tumbling around in the cart, still totally clueless to the whole situation.

"Jack! What the hell's going on?" she yelled when she sat up painfully.

He turned his head. "Let just say that there's a guy I met when I was out, and that he's not exactly one you'd like to meet."

"Why must I curse to get your attention?"

"Because by now he should be awake."

The elderly woman Kate had spoken to before was taken aback by the duo's sudden departure, and was even more so when a large male figure walked up behind her. She turned around and met the dead glare of the crimson hybrid of a bandicoot and human. She would've screamed, but he grabbed her rag coat collar and snarled.

"Which way did they go?"

The woman stared into the dark golden eyes. "T-they take mule cart… They run to hills!" she cried frantically. Nega's snarl vanished, and his ears flattened.

"They got away. Cortex can't find out about this, or he'll cut my pay." Nega threw the old woman to the ground and stared at the rising sun just bordering the horizon as she scampered away frightened.

"This isn't the last time we'll see each other, Crash Bandicoot," he spoke darkly. "I hereby swear I will get that little red-headed tramp, and I will kill you. Even if I have to drain your iron-filled blood. One. Drop. At a time."


	8. Revelations

**Odds and Ends**

* * *

Kate's arms were crossed. The fresh mornings in the Chinese July were rather frigid around the parts they traveled. And her new attire did not help with it at all.

"Kate, if you knew we were coming here, why did you pick a blue tank top and Capri's when I bought you new clothes?" Jack asked when "parking" the mules at a stable in a larger village.

"Because it's summer! I would normally wear this, if not less, every day in Arizona!" she argued.

"I see. Well, adaptation's out this year I suppose." He was busy dusting himself off when Kate leaped over the edge of the hay cart.

"Whatever. So who was this new 'guy' you met a few miles back?"

"I left the hut for a few hours, you know, for a small walk."

"In the pouring rain?"

"Yes, yes I did," he stated as a-matter-of-factly. "As I was saying, I was out, and out of nowhere he **attacked** me."

"You poor, poor thing," Kate said in a derisive manner. "I was grabbed by a 30 ton robot that could've crushed every bone in my body, but _**noo. **_Your story sounds a lot worse than mine."

"Oh, be quiet, you female." Jack stretched his arms into the air, and loosened a knot in his back. "Ah… Wow! That felt remarkably great."

"C'mon, Twinkle Toes. Let's get moving," Kate said.

"Yes, mother," Jack smirked.

* * *

Somewhere in the bowels of deep space lay a gigantic space station of unknown possession. If gained a closer proximity, one could hear a constant banter between two males.

"DAMMIT, CORTEX! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST GET THAT SHIT LIKE THIS HAPPENS TO YOU ALL THE TIME! AND NOW YOU'VE BROUGHT ME INTO YOUR RING OF FAILURE!"

"YOU ARE THE ONE WHO HAS FAILED ME! YOU SHOULD FEEL LUCKY THAT I WON'T LOWER YOUR PAY, YOU RAT!"

"You Sonuvah B—"

"SHUT UP YOU TWO IDIOTS!"

The cursing evil bandicoot and mad scientist turned to see a preteen girl holding a look of mad irritation to her face. She had a lowercase "n" on her forehead and her skin was tinted a hideous blue. Her hands were made of a bulky metal, while buckteeth were present. She had her black hair spike up slightly in the back. She wore a school uniform that was navy blue with a red tie.

And right now, she wasn't happy.

"Why are you two arguing when Crash still is out there with that chick? You're getting nowhere."

Nega snarled. "Look, you little brat—"

"Nega, why aren't you doing what you were paid to do? And Uncle, why aren't you giving him the supplies he needs to get the job done?"

Cortex sighed. "Nina, go to your room. You aren't helping."

"For once would you listen to me? You two are arguing so loudly that it's almost driven me insane!"

The two male adults were quiet. Nina sighed.

"This buffoon won't do us much good if he's without a good weapon," she said while gesturing to Nega. He growled in turn. "So why don't we give him a gun, and some other stuff like tranquilizer darts?"

"A gun would be useful, but why tranquilizers?" Nega asked.

"The chick won't exactly let us take her with you."

"Oh."

"So why don't you men stop thinking about your masculine dignity and focus on the problem here?"

Nega furrowed his brow and looked at his employer. "I think your niece is actually more helpful than you think, Cortex."

Cortex sighed. Again, he let his niece do the thinking for him. "Alright, N. Gin! Gather some artillery and tranquilizer serum!"

A sheepish voice was heard far off from the space station. "Yes, Doctor."

"Now if you two morons excuse me, I have to go and get some shut-eye," Nina said, and left the room without a second thought. Nega breathed in deep.

"I could use some of that, too. I really need some rest if you want the job done right."

Cortex was left in the room alone, besides N. Gin starting to come in with a gun and darts and Nega snatching them away from the stout man. The latter was intimidated by the bandicoot and rushed to the doctor. "Would you like anything else?"

"That girl, N. Gin. I want her to me as soon as possible."

* * *

Kate was patiently waiting outside the edge of a forest, arms folded and foot tapping. Jack suddenly came out from behind a large bush and gave a shout of joy.

"Woo! I've been holdin' that in for awhile now!" Kate looked at him with a blank face, looked down briefly and spoke casually.

"Jack."

"What?"

"Zip up your pants."

He quickly muttered a profanity and turned around in embarrassment. Kate chuckled, and Jack looked at her with a shamefaced air. "Sorry about that, mate."

"Don't worry. I lost count on how many times I've had to tell my older brother about that."

"Yeah, yeah. Men make mistakes."

"If you can call yourself that."

"Hey! I am I proud twenty-three year old guy. I have every right to the title of man."

"Whatever you say," Kate smiled. "So how do you plan to get out of this place?"

"What, you mean China? Well, I figured we could maybe take a plane."

"Oh, goodie, another plane ride. Do you promise not to crash this one?"

"Like that was my fault." But now that he thought about it, he was the one who caused the pilot to faint, so air travel might not be the best of choices.

Kate pursed her lips pensively. "What about by boat?"

"Boat?" Jack asked. "Never thought about it."

"You wouldn't," Kate remarked with a smug grin. Jack narrowed his eyes at the young woman and walked past her.

"Chicks."

* * *

Kate was sprawled across her bed with the blankest of looks. Jack was presently taking a shower, which he replied would have to take a while. He'd left his leather jacket in the room on Kate's nightstand, but took his helmet with him.

Kate's thoughts were interrupted by the previous contemplation of his helmet. Why was he so secretive about it anyway? What was so important under there that he had to conceal it from her? It was something she'd never understand.

Maybe he was an alien… No, no, it wouldn't make sense if he was. He's too much like a human to be an alien. Perhaps he was so gorgeous that he wouldn't show anyone, but considering his arrogant personality, that wasn't possible.

"What is he hiding?" Kate muttered aloud. Suddenly, a vibration in his leather jacket's pocket was triggered. She reached into the pocket and her hand clasped an object that would throb every few seconds. She lifted it from the pocket and found what seemed to be a walkie-talkie.

Kate, in her curious state, pressed the red button that was labeled "ANSWER."

"Crash! I know how Nega's tracking you down!" a girl's voice spoke. Kate, extremely nervous now, tried to think of a way to reply.

But this was the perfect opportunity to learn a little more about her companion.

She tried her best to impersonate Jack's voice, and spoke while holding the button. "…How?"

"He has a tracking device with your blood sample in it. It can pinpoint your location anywhere on the globe! So that means if you have Kate with you, she could be in danger."

Kate didn't know how to reply. Right now, she was worried over her life. But, she had to keep this going. "So what should he–I do?"

There was a pause on the other end, but the girl continued to speak. "Is there something wrong with your voice? It sounds… Different."

"Nah, I just… have a frog in my throat, is all."

It became quiet again, and the girl spoke with a hint of confusion. "Kate?"

"… Sorry to say so, yes, I'm Kate," the redhead spoke with a bit of regret. The girl she was speaking to began to chuckle.

"You should work on your Australian accent. I'm Coco… And I suppose my brother is busy with something?"

"He's taking a shower. He left his jacket out here with me."

"Wow, I've heard so much about you!"

"He… He talks about me?"

"I'm having difficulty thinking of a time when he didn't mention you to me. He must be a pain though."

"Jack's not that bad… Just really cynical and lazy."

"Tell me about it."

* * *

Crash was busy drying the water off of his orange fur, when he heard Kate talking. He furrowed his brow, and put an ear to the bathroom door. Who could that girl be talking to?

"Hey, Coco, what does your brother say about me?"

Holy _CRAP! _Kate was talking to his little sister! She was probably using that walkie-talkie. Crash, white towel wrapped around his waist, was thinking of bursting out the door and taking the device from her, but he couldn't while in his current attire!

"Really? Hm… That's intriguing," Kate said. Crash could almost see the sneer on her face now. It did not make him comfortable having his sister and this-this _chick _talking about him! He had to stop the conversing between the two ASAP.

He quickly threw on a pair of new jeans which he'd bought before getting on the boat, and he rapidly got into his white tank top. The sound of Kate's laughter taunted him, and he put on the helmet. Crash sleeked his fur, cracked his knuckles, and went out the door.

He turned to see Kate, who had the expression of satisfaction all over her face. She had wrapped up the conversation between her and Coco, and was ready to shoot mocking comments at her friend.

"So," Kate began. "I hear you've been speaking about a certain red head to your sister."

"She lies. I do not," Jack replied rather seriously.

"Oh? So I take it my feminine attitude doesn't crawl under your skin?" she scoffed.

"I will admit that that's true."

"And you think it's… 'Interesting'?"

Jack was giving a blush of anger underneath the helmet that hid his identity. "… I have to go down to the lobby for a minute."

He quickly left the room, leaving Kate by herself. The latter began to laugh, and when she eventually calmed down, she spoke into the walkie-talkie. "He totally bailed."

Coco began to laugh too, and she spoke. "My brother can't handle embarrassment."

"I know! Haha!"

Jack went to the bow of the cruise ship they were sailing on, the S.S. Jonesburg. He walked with a casual gait, and he eventually came to the nose of the ship. He leaned on the railing that bordered it and heaved a sigh.

The air felt nice against his bare arms. He'd forgotten to grab his leather jacket, once again, but it was dark tonight, so it didn't really matter. He thought of how nice it would be to take off the helmet to feel the breeze, so taking the risk; he looked around, saw no one, and took off it off.

The wind immediately blew through his lengthening deep red hair. Crash couldn't stop the smile that crept upon his lips. It felt so good.

He just folded his arms and used them as support as he leaned on the railing. But his irritable contemplations once again filled his head.

"'Interesting,' she says. Yeah, more like a total pain the rump." But, as he spoke those words, another thought ran through his mind.

_But, you have to admit that you do find it rather fetching._

"I do not!" he argued aloud without realizing it.

_Think about it, Crash. This girl could change your life forever. What are you going to do when you have to let her go?_

"I'll just… uh…"

_At loss of words? Notice that she's been causing that with you, the king of chatterboxes, more often than usual? Crash, you're falling for her._

"No, I'm not, you little cretin!"

_Have you forgotten that you're arguing with yourself?_

"Grgh! I just can win here, can I?"

"Not against me, you can't."

Crash whirred around to meet the all too familiar face of Nega. The crimson furred bandicoot was snarling with malice, and was staring daggers at his counterpart with golden eyes full of hatred. Crash wasn't expecting the sudden entrance of Nega again, and was immediately on alert.

"What the–How'd you get here so fast?"

"I have my ways, squirt. Now, where's the girl?"

"That's none of your business. If only you'd quit playing paparazzi, my life would be easier."

Nega growled and got in Crash's face, and the latter was forced to lean backwards over the rail. He caught a glimpse of the dark water below, and it struck him with the fear of falling in. He was incapable of swimming unfortunately.

"Paparazzi, eh? Might as well take a few photos, but that would be a waste of time. I need that girl."

Crash grinned. "You'll have to go through me first."

Nega bared his sharp canines in turn. "My pleasure, mate." He suddenly whipped a gun out of his brown leather trench coat, and pressed it to his enemy's chest.

Crash's smug smile vanished, promptly replaced with a more fretful expression. Nega grinned with a look of satisfactory. "Goodbye, pretty boy."

Crash's eyes shut tight, and prepared for his demise. Nega was finger pulled on the trigger, but was interrupted as a glass object flew in his back, shattering on contact.

"Ow! Damn! Who threw that– "

He was cut off by Crash, who used every once of his strength to heave the evil bandicoot over the railing of the bow. Crash listened for a moment, and heard the distinct splash. But before he could look at his savior, his quickly put on the helmet he'd been holding.

He turned to the entrance of the bow, and saw a rather horror-stricken Kate Clark, holding another glass vase in case it was needed.

"So I take it that's your previous aggressor you told me about before?" Kate asked him, taking a shaky breath.

_Thank God she didn't see me. _"Yeah, yeah, that was him. He's a total ass."

"I'd say."

"YOU LITTLE SHIT! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" Nega's voice roared from the ocean. Unlike Crash, he was able to swim somewhat.

"Ignore him. He tends to curse like a sailor," Jack assured Kate.

"Oh, yeah, you should probably know how he's following us around. Somehow, they got your blood or whatever, and they pinpoint you anywhere on the globe."

"Great. I'm a new point on the GPS system," he groaned derisively.

"So, when I spoke with your little sister, she referred to you as Crash every now and then," Kate stated.

"Uh, that's just a nickname. I'm destructive."

"I see…" Kate said. "Well, I'm done here. I'm going to the cabin now. I'm tired."

"Me too, Shorty." They walked off the bow and into the ship. As they walked down the heavily decorated hallways, Jack put his arm around Kate's shoulders. "Thanks, Kate. If it weren't for you, I'd more than likely be dead."

"You're welcome. There's no telling when I have the chance to be the hero, so there you have it."

"Oh, Kate," he smiled when putting her into a playful headlock. She chuckled, and soon gave him an elbow in the ribs.

"Oh, Jack."

* * *

A/N: What are the odds that the ends will come together in time? Likely? You will just have to keep reading. :3


	9. The Cruise

**Odds and Ends**

* * *

Nega shivered. He was freezing cold underneath the Chinese dock that sheltered him. He'd barely made it to shore, and when he did, he crawled right under the small pier.

That inferior Crash was a pain in his side ever since the day that orange bandicoot defeated him and sent him whirling back into the 10th dimension. Nega growled menacingly at the memory.

"That little t-twerp. Thinks… Thinks he can rid of m-me that easily?" Nega muttered between chattered canines. He wrapped his arms around his knees for extra warmth. "If I wasn't s-so damn cold, I'd be heading back to that b-boat."

Nega ran a clawed hand through his hair that was such a dark shade of red it almost appeared black. He was soaking wet and angry beyond belief. "I'm gonna… I'm gonna kill that little fur ball. And that ch-chick will not go to Cortex without a scratch. He n-never said that she had to be… be in one p-piece."

A buzz in his waterlogged trench coat disrupted his thoughts. He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a blue circular device that appeared very fragile. Metal coated the circumference, while a grid lined the area inside. On this device lay a green button, which Nega pressed. A blue hologram of Nina Cortex materialized.

"What is it, brat?" Nega snapped.

"I see you've failed. Again," Nina said to him. "And since your soaking wet, I'm glad I created this to be waterproof."

"Can we q-quit talking about my failures? I blame your uncle for this."

"Listen here, you oaf. There's no way you can pull this off by yourself."

"And what makes you s-say this?"

"Your skills are equal to Crash's. That means that you both have the same chances of winning and losing. But, that girl, Kate, is his advantage. The combined force of her and Crash lowers your chances even more."

Nega thought about this, and sighed. "I bet I can still take them on and win by myself."

"I'll accept that bet, and I'll give you three more tries. If you can't, though, I will personally assist you and I will take half the credit. Is it a deal?" Nina spoke to the bandicoot.

Nega only gave a crooked smile. "Don't get your hopes up."

* * *

After a day or two on the cruise ship, Jack had taken this as an opportunity to take in some much needed rest that he'd been missing. Kate found his constant sleeping rather boring, and therefore usually left him alone.

She had acquainted a few of the fellow passengers, and even befriended an American such as herself in the pool today. He was Jacob Stuart, a 20-year-old man from Indiana.

"So, Jacob, tell me about your job," Kate said to him.

"Well, it's nothing much. I work with computers, usually repairing them and installing hardware," the sandy blond-haired boy had replied.

"Computers; nice," Kate commented while relaxing on the edge. Jacob smiled coolly.

"Thanks. So, I saw you walking around with a dude lately. Is he your boyfriend?"

"Jack? Naw, he's just a friend. Right now, he's zonked out in the suite."

Jacob smiled again. "Really? Hm…" Jacob casually scooted over to Kate in the pool. The latter only looked at him, sort of perplexed. "Would you…_like_ a boyfriend?"

Kate wrinkled her nose. "What—"

"You said he was just a friend. He wouldn't mind, would he?"

She moved away from him, and chuckled. "Oh, boy."

"I like you, Kate, and I can tell you like me, too," he cooed, getting closer.

"Okay, listen here, bud—"

Jacob put an arm around the redhead's shoulders, and spoke softly. "I'm listening babe." By now, Kate was blushing with anger, but she didn't know what to do. She sighed, and tried to push off his arm.

"Look, Jacob, I'm not interested." But, the man only brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"Oh, but I am. I can be everything you ever wanted, Kate." She grimaced. He kept a sly smile on his lips as his face got closer to hers. He took his free hand and twirled it around her two-piece bathing suit top's strap. "You're so cute."

"Hey," snarled a voice from behind the two. Jacob sighed and spoke.

"Can't you see I'm busy?" But who he spoke to was a very pissed-off Jack, whom he recognized as Kate's friend. "Oh…"

"What do you think you're doing?" Jack snapped.

"I-I was j-just talking to Kate—"

"Talking? You better get your filthy paws off her before I tear you a new one."

Kate grinned, and Jack helped her out of the pool. "Thanks."

He nodded, and turned to the man who'd been bothering his comrade. "_Why_ are you still here? Scram!"

Jacob was fast getting out of the pool. He scrambled out and tripped over a beach chair rather comically. Jack gave a huff of anger.

"The nerve of that guy."

Kate wrapped Jack in a hug. "Thank you." The latter only furrowed his brow and looked down at her.

"You're wet." Kate released her grip with a reddened face.

"Sorry."

Jack laughed a bit and returned a small hug. "It's okay."

* * *

That evening, when the sky was lighted with the setting sun's red glow, Jack and Kate sat in their suite. "We should be docking soon," Jack said while looking out the window. Kate looked up from her book.

"Where at?"

He gave a small grin. "Australia."

"Your country? Sweet," Kate commented. "Maybe you could show me your place."

Jack, with an uneasy chuckle, spoke. "Yeah, I live way off. I don't really know if that's possible."

"We miraculously traveled all the way across the Eastern Hemisphere in a matter of weeks, and you say we can't make it to your house in the same country?" Kate scoffed.

"Well, actually… I never really had a home," he lied. "I'm a traveler, sleeping anywhere I can."

Kate raised a brow. "Really? You're a drifter, huh? Interesting."

"Yeah."

Kate resumed reading her book, which was bought in the ship's small shop. She'd actually found it rather hard to put down. She read the next paragraph.

"_The girl looked at the man before her, and couldn't look away for an odd reason."_

Kate, without realizing it, looked up at Jack, who was trying to get some more sleep. What a shocker.

It took a minute, but she continued reading.

"_There was something about him that she'd never understand… Yet…"_

Kate looked up at Jack again, who had now drifted into a peaceful slumber. Why was he always sleeping anyway? Nevertheless, Kate's eyes flickered back to the pages.

"…_He made her feel such emotions like no other…" _

The redhead inevitably took one last glance at her sleeping friend, and felt like there was something burning inside her. Why?

"_Maybe, she was in love with him."_

Kate's eyes widened and she burst from her bed and quickly opened the circular window. She tossed the book out, and heard a splash from below.

"I am not!" she shouted out the window. She slammed it shut, and turned around. Jack didn't even raise an eyelid, thank God. Kate walked back to her bed and threw herself into it. Brushing the hair from her face, she turned her head to Jack's latent form.

Kate studied his visible features. She could see dark red hair that fell between his closed eyes. Usually, when they were open, they were an insane green.

She narrowed her eyes in thought. This could be her chance…

Kate slowly sat up, and quietly walked over to Jack's bedside. He turned over to the window side of the cabin whilst in his sleep, and she crept to that side. Kate, silently as possible, grasped the sides of his helmet.

"What are you hiding?" she whispered. But, just as she was about to tug it off, Jack turned again, and Kate's fingers slipped from the grasp. She waited a moment, frozen like a statue, until he gave a small snore.

She sighed in relief, and this time, put her knee on his bed while reaching over his shoulders. Kate gripped his jet black head gear and pulled slightly. Suddenly, Kate could feel her balance wavering, and she panicked as she fell on top of Jack.

He was jolted awake almost immediately, and was astonished to find Kate on top of him. It was disturbingly quiet, and Kate was blushing such a shade of red it nearly matched her hair. Jack, as she could tell, was also.

"…I can explain," Kate said in a monotone voice. Jack's eyes scanned her face as he replied.

"Look, I don't think that your plan would've worked while I was asleep."

Kate's eyes were immensely wide. She began to stutter a reply, the blush getting even redder. "No! I was just… Just…"

"Oh, you poor, unfortunate soul. I felt you pulling at my helmet the first time," Jack said dryly upon getting out of the bed. "Look, Kate. I can't take it off, okay?"

The young woman looked at Jack with a disoriented expression. "Well why not? It's killing me!"

Jack gave a look of regret. He really wanted to take off his helmet and show her who he really is, but he already knew the reaction. She'd scream, and probably try to kill him with any sharp objects in the room.

"I just can't."

And with those words, he pressed a button on the back of the helmet and the visor slid shut. Kate sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I am too."

* * *

Coco sat in her lab, eyes set on several computer monitors. She was trying to scope out anything that may be useful to Crash.

There was a knocking on the door to her lab. Coco's eyes shifted to the camera monitor, and sighed when she saw her burgundy-furred adoptive brother, Crunch Bandicoot.

"What Crunch?" she questioned into a microphone that transferred to a speaker outside.

"You've been in there for nearly five hours! When are you going to come out and eat?" he asked.

"What am I going to do when something comes up that I should warn Crash about, Crunch?"

"Coco! He's a big boy! He can handle himself!" Crunch argued. Coco sighed, but he continued to speak. "Have you forgotten how many times that tiny tornado has saved the world?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she groaned.

"Even if it was all on pure luck, the little runt deserves some credit. Now, come on and let's do something."

"Like what? Lift weights and train 24/7? What a blast."

"…Well, we have a GameCube…"

Coco considered it, and spoke. "Alright. But you have to set it up."

"Alright."

Minutes later, Crunch was trying to figure out what cords go where. It was a hassle trying to hook up a game station in the living room. He plugged in a red and yellow cord into the TV, and waited for results.

Nothing.

"Grgh. Stupid piece of crap," he growled when unplugging the cords from it. If Crash were here, he'd at least show him how to hook it up. After all, it was his GameCube. Crunch connected the white and yellow to their spots, leaving the red unhooked, and looked up at the TV.

Again, no outcome.

"Why won't this work?" he griped. Coco walked over and examined his work.

"Crunch, you need to plug the GameCube in."

Crunch's ears lowered, and he plugged the gaming system into the wall outlet. He pressed the power button, and in turned on. He sighed.

"Thanks."

"It takes a girl to figure these things out."

* * *

Cortex sat in a chair that was large and chrome. He stared off at the wall in sheer thought.

N. Gin came in through a door in the front of the room, opposite of where Cortex was seated. "Doctor, the suit. It is ready." Cortex's eyes were flashed to where the Cyborg scientist stood firm.

"Show me."

"Yes, Doctor."

The underling scuttled out of the darkly lit room. Cortex was almost anxious to see this suit. Minutes later, N. Gin returned with two lower-ranked scientists who were pushing a metal suit sealed in a glass case. They yielded three yards or so away from Cortex, and stood up straight.

Cortex rose from the miniature throne and studied the gear. The suit contained a feminine figure, and looked extremely heavy if carried. But of course, for a stronger build, the Doctor told his minions to create it with an alloy of titanium and silver, and polish with a chrome finish.

At the head, an eyepiece made of tin covered the right eye with a red circle implying itself as the new "eye". Then, the neck was made of blackish flexible material that was nearly an inch thick. Then, the torso was a brilliant chrome structure of titanium silver. The breasts were the assumed size of a young woman. The abdomen, arms, thighs, and legs were made of the same material as the neck. There was a chrome latex glove that suited the right hand, while large cannon of titanium substituted for the entire left forearm. Metal kneepads were positioned between the thighs and legs. And to finish off the description, metal boots that were proportioned a little largely.

Cortex felt a smile creep upon his lips. "N. Gin, exceptionally good work. This is a perfect body for the girl."

N. Gin was about to speak, until something caught in his mind. "Body?"

"Yes. When that blasted girl is mine, this will be her new body. She would be weak if she was human, and therefore I must make her a Cyborg, like you. Machines have immense physical power, while humans have extreme intellect," Cortex briefed. He examined the suit from top to bottom, and sighed. "Cyboria will be indestructible."

* * *

Alright, that wraps up this chapter of Odds and Ends! Next chapter is the TENTH! I'm on a roll! Wow, I cannot believe I made it this far! I want to that every single one of my reviewers for helping me alongside with this story! Oh, and I also noticed that the last chapter (probably one of the sappiest), didn't receive any reviews. Either because it was poorly structured or lacking something important, I won't know. Eh.

I need to stop being paranoid.

And now, for the notice you will see every few chapters:

Reviews are deeply appreciated. I accept anonymous, so that means if you do not have an account for this site, or you can't/too lazy to log in, you can send a review. 

I fear something happened to my first three anonymous reviewers.

And, for future information, Nega does tend to curse more often than he should. That's just the personality I chose to give him. So please, do not take any kind of offense to this.

Thank you all so very much!


	10. It Might Be Love

**Odds and Ends**

* * *

The TENTH CHAPTER! And hopefully the most interesting you'll read so far!

Mwahahahahahahahahahaha!

* * *

The very first thing Jack did when leaving the cruise ship was rent a chair and relax on the beach. Kate had agreed with this, because she didn't get to go the beach often. He took off his leather jacket, leaving his tank-top on. She was wearing the black two-piece bathing suit she'd gotten on the ship.

And the intense heat had gotten even hotter.

Kate borrowed a towel, and laid it next to him. "I am going to find out what you find so interesting about sleeping, Jack."

He smiled. "Yeah, yeah. People don't know what a great advantage it is."

"I say it's your excuse for getting out of work."

"So you say, my dear. So you say."

"So I say correctly," she retorted. Kate laid herself on the pink towel, and brought out a pair of shades she'd asked Jack to buy for her a few hours ago. He wanted to say no, but Kate brought out "the puppy dog eyes."

"_What are you doing?" he'd said. Kate made a small sniff, and looked up at him with pleading sad eyes. "That's not gonna work on me, Red." She tried to make them even bigger and shinier, and finally, he sighed. "Fine."_

She'd picked out the blackest possible, and back to the present, she was putting them on. They shaded the sun rather well. "Great shades, Jack."

He turned a bit in his beach chair grumbled something incoherent, then saying, "That was the weakest display of beseeching I've ever seen."

"But you totally caved in," Kate smirked. He griped something again, causing a laugh to escape Kate's mouth. "What a man you are."

Jack rolled his eyes. Women were so arrogant.

'_Ah, but Crash… Look at Kate…'_ echoed a voice in his head. He turned his head and faced her. Kate was pulling out the band that held her hair up. In turn, her hair fell down to her shoulder blades rather quickly, and she combed her fingers through it so that it would be straight.

He couldn't look away. Her attention was on the volleyball players more than on anything else. Kate took in a deep breath as she situated her top straps.

'_She's beautiful… is she not?'_

"She is…" Jack mumbled without realizing. Kate had heard his mumble and turned her attention to him.

"… She is what?"

Jack snapped out of his trance, and shook his head momentarily. "Oh, uh… Nothing."

Kate furrowed her brow a bit, but decided not to care and lay back on the towel. "You're losing it."

Jack sighed. "I know."

* * *

Night fell. Every individual had left the beach by now. That is, until something rather odd happened.

At around twelve o'clock midnight, a figure began to materialize from the sand up. When the figure was in full form, it was an anthropomorphic bandicoot that held a device in his hand.

He cleared his throat a bit before speaking. "Teleportation's by far one of the best ways to travel." Nega stuffed the device in his pocket, and took a casual stroll down the beach.

"Now where could my copy be? Hm… That little runt blends in too well." He paced one foot in front of the other while putting his clawed hands in his pockets. It was very dark out, but some of the distant city lights tried to prevent that, it seemed.

Nega began to ponder, which happened to be something that occurred quite often lately. He ran over his job again: kill that rat, get the girl, bring her to Cortex alive, and receive ten million dollars. Quite simple, really.

"If pretty boy was someone who was easy to kill," Nega muttered with a growl. Remarkably, he was able to recover his gun, which had a stun mode and kill mode. Nega was rather eager to test the kill mode, actually.

Suddenly, Nega's path was lighted with two rays of light from behind. He halted, and stood firm with out turning around. A voice spoke out.

"Sir, civilians aren't allowed to roam the beaches at his time of night." Nega grinned. The Beach Police strike again. This was the perfect opportunity to try out his gun.

"Oh, my dearest man," Nega feigned in a sad tone, "I'm dreadfully sorry."

The security man walked up behind Nega from his Jeep, and spoke again. "Well, maybe you didn't know. I'll let you off with a warning this time."

Nega grinned ferociously, keeping his animalistic face away from the man. "No, I meant I'm sorry… For you."

The guard was about to question, when Nega whipped out his gun and pointed it at the man. The guard had no time to react as the gun's trigger was pulled and a beam of magenta light shot out at him.

Nega put the gun away. He held a look of satisfaction at the limp body of the guard. "Excellent work, Nega. That little fur ball is going down," he muttered to himself. He walked over to the Jeep, and decided to see if this guard had anything useful.

He rummaged through the compartments and found a tazer, some chewing gum, cigarettes, a lighter, and a white helmet in the back seat. "Let's see… The tazer could prove useful later on. The gum," he stuck a piece in his mouth and chewed it a bit, "has every right to be shoved into my pocket. Cigarettes; might as well with the lighter. And last but not least… the white helmet."

He put all the other items in his pockets as he examined the white helmet. "Didn't Crash have a black helmet…?" he muttered. Probably why he was able to blend in and keep his identity discrete. Nega shrugged before putting it on, and found it a rather good fit. It covered his ears and muzzle completely, and coincidentally had a yellow tinted visor that had the "mirror effect," where one could see out but not in.

He chuckled darkly. "Ooh, boy. This should be fun." Nega, with the advantage of knowing how to drive, sat up in the driver's seat and turned on the car. "Very fun, indeed."

* * *

Coco sat in her living room with Pura, the tiger that she had claimed as a pet ever since the incident in China and the Great Wall. The great beast purred happily as it snuggled itself into Coco's abdomen. The latter smiled lightheartedly, as she gently stroked the thick fur of the feline.

To her side, her laptop was left open by accident, and a distinct sound played from it. Coco's eyes averted to the screen as a new email message made itself known. Coco nearly gasped as a video came up with a familiar face.

"Crash!" she shouted with a wide grin of joy. The sibling bandicoot shushed her. He moved away from the view of the camera for a moment, to reveal a sleeping Kate on the bed behind him. Coco realized that she had to whisper, and spoke. "How did you—"

"Kate showed me how to video chat, and by tinkering with this walkie-talkie thing, I found your email, whatever that is," he explained briefly. Coco could see the helmet sitting on the table.

"So, does Kate know yet?"

"No, and I plan to keep it that way, because I don't think any human is really able to grasp mutant bandicoots. Ever since I saw Gary faint…"

"Who's Gary?"

"Never mind him; I wanted to talk."

"About…?"

"Well, you know… What's Crunch doing?"

"He's watching TV…"

"Tell him to keep his paws off my stuff, would you? Knowing that lug nut is bad enough."

"Listen here, pipsqueak. I can make your life a living hell as soon as you get back," Crunch's voice growled in the background. Crash grinned.

"Glad to hear he's still the merry old chap I still know."

Coco rolled her eyes and stroked Pura's fur absently as she talked to her brother, "Crash, when _are_ you going to come back?"

"Well, I have good news. I'm in Australia," he grinned while straightening his elongating red hair. "I'm closer than ever."

Coco smiled, and looked at her brother's end of the video chat. She inhaled deeply, and she spoke. "Crash, take care. I don't know what I'd do if you…"

But Crash had been playing with his yo-yo during her speech, and looked up at the screen blankly. "Did you say something?"

Coco felt the bridge of her nose wrinkle in anger. "Yeah, I said that you need to pay more attention to people you big jerk!"

Crash watched the video chat close, and he gave a chuckle. "I'm not fond of soft moments anyway." He turned off the rental room's desktop computer with a tired sigh. He then turned to his friend's sleeping form.

Kate turned in her sleep with a moan. Crash had come to know that she was an extremely heavy sleeper, so he needn't worry that much if she turned a bit, or if he talked in a normal voice.

"Hell, I could have a dozen sirens go off and she'd still be out cold," Crash muttered with a grin. He gave a stretch and a yawn. "I really need to get some rest."

His hands subconsciously grabbed the black helmet as he rose from his seat. He slowly paced over to the suite's couch, and he collapsed onto it with a moan. He put the helmet on his head, and with the last stretch, he relaxed his muscles, closed the helmet visor, and inevitably began to snore lightly.

* * *

Jack awoke slowly, but surely. He blinked a few times, and knew that it was probably afternoon. He sat up, and inhaled deeply. He honestly did not want to get up, but he knew from experience that if he didn't, Kate would be doing that job for him.

Speaking of the fiery redhead, where was she?

Jack took a glance around the room, and saw she was no where to be seen. Where'd she go? He got up, and took a peek into the bathroom, which the door was left open. No Kate.

"Good Lord, where'd she go?" But, from the spur of the moment, he couldn't help but notice the mirror above the sink. He walked into the bathroom, and took a look at his reflection. He felt a smile starting to form, and he slipped off the helmet.

He gazed at his reflection, and he began to fix his hair a bit. "My, my, Crash Bandicoot. You are indeed one handsome devil." While he was absorbed in his arrogance, he heard the door to the suite open. He heard he clatter of a plastic bag. His breath caught in his throat for a moment.

"Okay, time to try these on," Kate's voice spoke through the other side of the bathroom door. In a panic, Crash had absolutely no time to run out and put his helmet back on at the same time, so he quickly ran into the shower and closed the curtain.

He heard the door open, and in walked Kate. She was humming a tune, and was carrying a yellow plastic bag full of clothes. Kate opened it, and brought out a pair of jeans. "Well, now aren't these just the best jeans I've ever seen? Only for forty bucks off of Jack's credit card!" she said with a giggle. Crash felt around in his pockets and found that his wallet was nowhere. He made a quiet growl, just barely audible.

Kate began to change her clothes to that of which the ones she bought. Crash, despite the many urges, respected her privacy. But, he thought, just a harmless glance wouldn't hurt, so he got a quick look from the crack of the curtain, and just as Kate slipped off her blue tank-top, Crash spied a red dragon tattoo right above her belt.

"Well, what have we here? A little tramp stamp?" Crash whispered to himself with a malicious grin. Kate wriggled on a black shirt with a large red heart on the torso, and she heaved a sigh.

"I still can't figure out why I went to college to be a teacher. I'd like to become an artist or something," she said upon getting eye make-up out of the plastic bag. She began to apply the stuff to her eyes, and Crash looked away.

'_An artist, huh?'_

Kate, finished with her make-up, began to stare into the mirror. "Well Kate, your beauty pageant over, you should go and get something out of that vending machine a few doors down." She walked out of the bathroom, leaving the hidden bandicoot to himself.

Crash heard the suite door close, and he let out a breath. "Way. Too. Close."

He stepped out of the shower carefully, and he put on the helmet. He noticed that his wallet was perched on the sink, and he swiped it off and shoved it into his back pocket. He walked out of the bathroom and sat back on the couch with a huff.

"Well, Crash, the time has come. Time to pretend that none of this ever happened," he spoke to himself, and he lay back on the couch with a sleeping pose. He only wanted Kate to come in and not notice that he was gone for a period of time.

That's exactly what happened, but when Kate walked in with a can of soda in hand, she saw Jack "sleeping," she groaned.

"He's still sleeping?" Kate stood over him with an aggravated expression, which then turned to one of mischief. She chuckled, and tipped the can slightly. But before any of the beverage spilt, Jack spoke.

"Don't even think about it, Red."

Kate jumped back in surprise, and she held the can straight again. "You're awake?"

"Yes, ma'am." He positioned himself up so that Kate could sit down, which she did.

"Oh. Well, what do you think?" She gestured to her new attire, in which Jack studied and nodded.

"Not bad, considering that's forty bucks out of my credit card."

"You heard me in the bathroom?"

"Yes, I did."

Well, after about ten minutes of idle chit-chat, Kate stood up. "Let's go somewhere."

Jack was confused as to what the girl wanted to do, and furrowed his brow. "Where to?" Kate held a devilish smile to her face.

"Have you ever heard of Six Flags?"

* * *

Jack felt the protective bar on the seat go down. "Are you sure this qualifies as 'fun?'" he asked Kate, who sat beside him, with a nervous tone. Kate, with a wide grin, looked at him.

"Well, duh! Haven't you ever rode on a roller coaster?" she asked him as if it was something everyone's done. Jack looked forward and saw the giant slope in front of them. They were in the very front of the ride.

"Can't say I have."

Kate held a look of disbelief on her face. "Never? Not ever, not once in your entire life?"

"No."

Kate was almost horror-stricken, but then beamed. "Well, then prepare yourself, buddy."

The coaster began to move forward at a moderate pace, and began to climb the steep slope. Jack was not amused by this whatsoever, but Kate was building up excitement, as he could tell. Just as the coaster reached the top, it stayed that way for what seemed to be forever, but then the ride plummeted down.

Kate was letting out a joyful "Woo!" while Jack, on the other hand, was holding onto the bar for dear life. This is what humans did for fun? Sharp turns at every corner, and many steep slopes; it was torture. And to top it all off, there was a loop approaching. Kate was anxious to get there, while Jack was regretting ever getting on this bloody machine.

The roller coaster quickly built up speed and went through the loop in a span of two seconds. Kate was nearly shouting Hallelujah, and Jack… He was quietly pleading that the ride would end soon. To his fortune, the coaster approached the finishing point, and stopped.

Kate let out a breath. "Absolutely exhilarating and refreshing!" She turned to see Jack, eyes tightly shut and hands clamped onto the bar. "Jack?"

"God? Is that you?" he asked without moving a muscle. Kate rolled her eyes as the bars snapped off the passengers, her comrade's grasp slipping from them, to his misfortune.

"The ride's over, smart one."

Jack opened one eye and scanned the surroundings. As soon as he deemed them worthy to return to the world of the living, he rose from his seat. "I'm getting off then."

As he stepped off the ride, Kate gave an irritated sigh. "What a wuss."

* * *

That day, Jack had tried many new things. He rode on a roller coaster (which became known to him as Hell on Tracks), he tried smoothies, which he was able to slide the straw into his helmet, he won a giant bear—that he hated so he handed it over to Kate—and he even got an autograph from some Australian celebrity.

"All in one day," he moaned in remembrance. Right now, he was waiting in line for some other crummy ride Kate begged him to try. He read the sign again. "The Swan Lake. Is this really all that you say it is? I honestly don't think it'll be all that it's cracked up to be."

"Jack, please. I've never been on it, and you've obviously never set foot in an amusement park, so we're going," she said with a more superior tone, which Jack really began to find irritable.

The teen boy who was allowing two people at a time met Jack and Kate's faces. "You two together?"

Kate gave a solemn nod, while Jack sighed. The boy let the duo inside, and they walked over to where the ride started. It was like a little river that led into a cave, and as one boat docked, another left off. The boats were shaped like (obviously) swans, and Jack stepped first.

"This should be really boring," he sighed. He helped Kate get inside the two person boat, and they sat down. Immediately, the boat began to float down the miniature river. Jack took notice that it was sunset, and purple, orange, and red clashed colors in the sky.

He leaned back in his seat, and sat across from Kate. "So, what do we do here?"

Kate gave him a soft glance, but smiled. "We just enjoy the ride." He nearly groaned, but then their small boat entered the cave. A purple glow from the mouths of the cave lit up the inside with ease, and gave everything a magnificent glow.

Jack caught a glance at his friend's face, and felt captivated. The purple lit her face in such a way… He gave a gulp, and spoke. "Heh, sunsets… and their purple radiance. It never ends."

Kate chuckled. "Yeah, but could you imagine a world without sunsets?"

"Life would be pretty drab, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah."

Jack felt himself staring at Kate, but he couldn't look away. Something inside him felt like it was on fire, something… that made his stomach flutter. This feeling was utterly foreign to him, and he didn't know how to cope with it.

Right now, Jack yearned to get closer to Kate, but something seemed to be pushing him away. '_What the hell is wrong with me?' _he asked mentally, but no answer came. Only Kate's face and one word popped into his mind.

_Love…_

Oh, how he argued with himself mentally after that, and if his thoughts went aloud, he'd more than likely be considered insane. But, after facing his own stubbornness, he sighed, and decided to enjoy the moment while it lasted.

"All right, let's get off."

He could've slapped himself for letting such a precious time slip away, and saw that they were "docked." He muttered a few incoherent words of irritation, but he got out of the boat. But this time, when he took Kate's hand to help her out of the bird-impersonating vessel, he felt the hairs on his neck stand up a bit.

* * *

Nega growled. Where was that pipsqueak hiding? He's tracked him down to an amusement park, but couldn't locate that runt's exact spot. If he wanted to go in for the kill, he'd have to get a closer range. He had gotten a pass to the park so he could go in and find Crash.

Sure, if he went in and did his business, he'd be attracting attention. "Which is fine by me," he snarled happily, causing a passing woman to glance at him with perplexity. He casually sat on a bench, and took a look at the scenery.

The place smelled of food, oil, and vomit. It was disgusting. "How do humans live in such conditions?" Nega moaned. The child with a blue balloon beside him looked at him in fear, which he turned to the small boy. "What do you want, kid? Can't you see I'm trying to kill someone here?"

The child's eyes widened, and to top off horrifying the toddler, Nega took a claw and punctured the balloon, causing a massive pop, destroying the object the child held dear. The child screamed, and ran off the bench, darting to a woman who appeared to be his mother.

Nega chuckled. That was surely amusing. But the woman walked up to Nega, and she grimaced at him. "You popped my son's balloon!"

Nega gave a low throaty growl that was inhuman, and the woman gasped, grabbed her bawling toddler, and ran off. Afterwards, the Nega cackled in laughter, and smiled. "All too fun, scaring the living shit out of people."

He got up from the bench and continued to search for his counterpart. Nowhere to be seen. Nega made a series of assorted growls in aggravation, but achieved nothing with them besides stares. Just when he was about to give up the search and call it a day, he saw someone.

It was a red headed girl outside the men's room, who was apparently waiting for someone. Nega studied her, and took a crumpled photo out of his pocket, and looked at it, then the young woman. There's no way…

"Is that the girl I'm looking for?" he muttered. Glancing at the photo, the girl, then the photo once more, he was convinced that she was indeed Kate Clark. He grinned eagerly, and noticed that she was fair game now that Crash wasn't around.

He walked toward her casually, and was soon in front of her. Kate furrowed her brow in confusion.

"May I help you?" she asked him.

"Yes, I was wondering if you would take part in a survey," he lied, making his tone brighter so he doesn't let on anything.

"What kind of survey?"

Nega clicked his tongue in thought, and he dug his hands in his pocket, and felt a dart. He grasped it, and spoke. "An amusement park satisfaction survey."

Kate sighed. "Well, the coasters are well worth it, but some of the rides are pretty sappy."

"Oh really? Tell me, Doll Face, have you been on the Tranquilizer yet?"

"The Tranquilizer?"

"Yes, it goes something like," he pulled the dart out of his pocket, "this." Nega quickly took the dart, and stabbed it into Kate's neck. She gasped in sudden shock, and when he was sure the dart was devoid of the serum, he took it out and threw it on the ground.

"What the hell?" Kate cursed as she looked at Nega in bewilderment and anger. But her vision began to blur, and her knees buckled. Nega caught her as soon as she collapsed, and he hefted her onto his right shoulder with relative ease.

"Now, now, darling. You mustn't be alone because someone may come and take you away," he grinned savagely. Kate only lay limp while he carried her, and he quickly left the amusement park.

* * *

Jack walked out of the bathroom with a satisfied sigh. "Alright, Kate. We should go home now," he said. But when he looked around, she was nowhere to be found. "Kate?" When he looked down, he saw a yellow dart with a black stripe. He picked it up, and looked down the path. He saw a man carrying… Kate.

"Oh no," he breathed, and he took off down the small pathway. Right when he reached a turn, they were gone. "No!" he growled. Jack ran to where they disappeared, which was to the parking lot. He saw the man putting Kate into a Jeep, and Jack could feel a snarl curling on his lips.

"HEY!" he shouted from the entrance. The man halted, and turned his attention to Jack, and laughed.

"Look who decided to show!" he said. Jack walked up to the man, and growled menacingly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing with her?"

"Why, taking her to my employer, of course. She's worth world domination to him, apparently." At this, Jack could instantly tell who this was.

"Nega, you slimy bastard. What'd you do to her?" He could feel his retractable claws starting to extend in his fury. Nega only laughed behind his white helmet.

"Tranquilizers come in handy, you know."

But, he didn't know how short-lived they were, as Kate began to stir. Their attention turned to her, as she awakened. She knit her brows together groggily. She saw Jack, and her captor, face to face, and noticed one detail they shared.

"Is it popular to wear helmets year-round?" Jack groaned, while Nega snickered.

"My dear, have you not seen what's underneath his mask?"

Kate narrowed her eyes at Nega, which then he instantly whipped out the tazer. Without a second's notice, he shot Jack with it, which in turn he collapsed to the ground with a flustered grunt.

By now, Kate was out of the car and ready to help her friend retaliate, but Nega held his weakened enemy by the shoulders. Jack was taken aback by the sudden jolt of electricity. "Jack!" Kate shouted. Nega was confused.

"Jack? You mean this runt?" He shocked Jack again with the tazer, and a gasp erupted from the latter's mouth.

"Who else? Stop!" Kate shouted frantically. Unfortunately, Nega found a sadistic pleasure in others' pain, so he once again pulled the trigger to the tazer, and Jack could only strain his muscles as electricity coursed through his body. When it stopped, his vision became blurry and it was difficult to distinguish the features on Kate's face.

Nega chuckled. He assumed that Kate, since she thought that Crash's name was Jack, did not know that he was a mutant bandicoot, so he would get a kick out of this. "Oh-ho-ho-ho. Poor little Jackie feeling woozy?"

Jack could feel his stomach gnarl, and he growled. "You sick freak."

But, Nega gave a crooked smile, tazed him again, and grabbed the back of Jack's helmet. "Who are you calling a freak, bandicoot?" he said with bitterness, and he yanked off the helmet. Kate gasped.

* * *

Ooh! A cliffy! Eh, sort of, but anyway… I really liked writing this chapter, and I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as well! MORE TO COME, I SWEAR TO YOU THE READER!


	11. Separation

**Odds and Ends**

* * *

I love you guys so much! I got so excited when I saw that I got +40 reviews! That's huge for me. Thank you so much!

* * *

Kate looked at her companion in complete and utter shock. Crash was stunned—in more ways than one—as he was unmasked to one of his greatest friends. He expected a scream, but she could only stare at him dumbly.

Nega chuckled. "You see, Doll Face? He's a mutant animal. Pretty boy here always has been, always will be."

Kate would've spoken, if she could. Crash snarled and tried to glare at Nega, who had him on his knees and held by the jacket collar. "Same as you, Nega."

"Yes, yes, don't flatter me. I'm already aware of my excellencies," Nega smirked in response. Kate furrowed her brow, and came back to reality.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, let me get this straight. You two are… animals?"

Crash sighed. "You've seen what Cortex can do. He wanted me to be some general, but I declined, and years later, here I am now. Nega here… Eh, he's my evil twin from another dimension."

"You were… created?"

"Mutated."

"Yes, now if this little charade is over with, I'd rather to get paid sooner than later," Nega sighed irately. He pulled the trigger to the tazer once more, and Crash could only wince in sudden pain. This wasn't any fun. Nega put the tazer away, and got out his better firearm.

He set it to stun, and shot Kate with it. She tensed up, and fell to the ground. She was still conscious, but the use of her muscles was removed for awhile. Crash's eyes widened, and he wearily struggled against Nega's grip. "Kate!"

"Relax, hot shot. She's still alive, but you won't be," Nega grinned with malice. He pointed the gun and Crash, and squeezed the trigger. Crash felt the beam envelope his already stressed body, but could do nothing as he muscles stopped working. Nega released he grip on Crash's jacket collar, and he stood up.

Nega hadn't realized, though, that he'd forgotten to switch it to kill mode, therefore Crash was still conscious. Although, Crash wasn't sure how long that would last, due to the freaking tazer wearing him out. Nega chuckled, and walked over to Kate's limp body. He picked her up by the shoulders and looked her in the face.

"You're little friend's dead." Kate would've had an array of rage and grief lining her facial features, if she could summon the muscle to even make an expression. Nega placed her in the passenger seat of the olive green Jeep.

Nega took one glance at Crash, and grinned. He was satisfied, and didn't plan on taking the body to Cortex, so he simply left him there for some other poor soul to clean up the mess. So, Nega walked to the driver's side and hopped in.

Nega sighed, and took off his white helmet, showing his true face. "Alright, missy prissy. I've got to get a better signal to Cortex's space station so I can teleport us to his base," he spoke to Kate as he turned the keys and turned on the engine.

Kate didn't know that her friend wasn't dead and felt distressed. _'He can't be… dead… Jack can't be…' _was all she could think. Nega pulled out the device that he'd used to teleport and contact Nina Cortex with, and placed it in his lap so he could keep a constant eye on the signal. He then drove out of the dirt parking lot in rather good spirits.

He was getting paid, he has the girl in his possession, and Crash Bandicoot is dead. Also, he remembered the deal he made with Nina, and chuckled. That little brat isn't getting any credit for this whatsoever, which made him one happy guy.

"Hell, I love being me."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Crash felt as if he should've fallen asleep right there. His eyes were dry from the incapability of blinking, and he was pretty sure that if he stayed there any longer, someone was bound to notice him lying there.

Crash sighed. This sucked big time. He'd let Nega get Kate, his best friend, and now he was taking her to Cortex. Who knows what that maniac was going to do to her? Just thinking about it made Crash's skin crawl with hatred. Cortex was willing to do anything to rule the world, even scoop a harmless woman from the face of the Earth.

Crash's mind averted to the day he'd met Kate. Then the day they spent the night at their first motel, the day she and him took on a small army of robots, the day he crashed a plane and parachuted with her, the day they got on the cruise boat, the day she saved him from Nega, and now, today.

Today, when he went on a romantic ride with her. Crash sighed, and blinked before closing his eyes in the sweet memory. It was actually rather enjoyable.

But then it his him. He _blinked_. Crash blinked a few more times, and smiled. Smiled! He was almost eager to get back onto his feet, but when he tried to move his limbs, he gained no result. That part was yet to come.

He groaned. "Great. Well, at least I can talk." He felt a buzzing in his jacket pocket. The walkie-talkie device was vibrating, and Crash wanted to pick it up. He tried moving, yet accomplished nothing. He muttered a profanity, and after a solid three minutes, the vibration ceased.

"Oh joy. Now Coco will have a panic attack." A lean man walked by and heard Crash's talking. He turned to see Crash, and gasped. But the bandicoot offered a smile. "Mind lending a hand, mate?"

The man screamed and ran off in the direction he was heading, and Crash sighed. "Of course. Humans." He simply lay there a minute, that is, until the device vibrated once more. Crash wrinkled his nose. "Sorry, Crash Bandicoot is unavailable for the moment. Please leave your name and your freaking number at the beep," he mumbled in an irritated monotonous tone.

"Crash!" Coco's voice came from his pocket. Now he was confused. Wasn't he supposed to answer it? "Where are you?"

Despite his doubts, he spoke loudly so his sister could hear. "I'm kind of in a sticky situation here."

"What kind of situation?"

"Let's see, Kate's gone, I can't move, and a human saw me without the helmet. But other than that, it's sunny out today."

"Crash! What happened? Hang on!"

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere, sis."

Crash was rather taken aback when the device literally crawled out of his pocket on tiny little legs and stood in front of his face. "Crikey, what else can this thing do?" he asked. Suddenly, a little satellite dish dissipated from the antennae. "Need I even ask?" The bandicoot could only watch in awe as it fired a bright white beam directly at his face.

He was blinded by the intense whiteness, and his eyes closed tightly. When the light faded, he slowly opened his eyes, and was shocked. He was on the carpet of his own living room! He was home! He immediately smiled and inhaled deeply.

The smell of his home on N. Sanity was refreshing. Coco immediately ran into the room and saw her brother on the floor. "Crash!"

"Hiya, Coco," he sighed. She knelt beside him, worry written all over her face.

"Are you hurt?" She began to check his body for injuries, until he spoke.

"Not hurt, just immobilized. Now, would you mind helping me to the couch?" Crash felt himself getting lifted into the air by the collar of his jacket. He was nearly two feet off the ground, and the one who had him ascended turned his body so he could face them.

Crash grinned. "Ah, Crunch. Good man. Mind throwing me on the couch?" Crunch Bandicoot smirked as he held the smaller bandicoot with his bionic arm.

"Alright." He held Crash over the couch and dropped him. Crash was shocked for a bit after the sudden drop, and he furrowed his brow as he looked at Crunch.

"The drop could've had more grace."

"You asked for it, runt."

Crash looked at Coco. "So how long before I can move again?"

"How long did it take before you were able to move your facial features when you were shot?"

"About fifteen minutes."

"And when I called you, how long were you able to talk?"

"I don't know, ten minutes?"

"And it takes about five minutes to teleport you here, so you should be able to move right around…" Coco contemplated her answer, and Crash brought up a hand and ran it through his hair.

"Look, I don't see how this is able to tell…" He paused, and his eyes shifted to his elevated hand. "Good Lord. Must I always be faced in irony?"

Crash tried to get up from the couch, and found that he couldn't. Yet another let-down. "Okay, but what about my legs?"

"They should come back in fifteen minutes," Coco stated. Suddenly, a smile ran across her face, and she walked over to Crash, and embraced the bandicoot in a hug. Crash stiffened for a moment, but it melted away and he soon returned the hug.

"I've missed you so much," Coco said upon burying her face into his chest. Crash chuckled.

"I have too, squirt."

* * *

Nega sighed. Kate had been able to talk again, but she didn't utter a word. She wasn't on speaking terms with him. The crimson-furred bandicoot sighed. "Look, Doll Face, you don't have to turn a cold shoulder. I can be a nice guy."

She turned her head and looked at him with a skeptical eye. He grinned. "I'm a huge liar, as well." She rolled her eyes, and folded her arms.

'_Mutated bandicoots. Who'da thunk? Apparently that freaky doctor,'_ Kate thought. Then a shiver ran up her spine. _'What's he planning on doing with me, anyway? Is he gonna turn me into an animal?'_

"Hey," Kate said to Nega. The latter glanced at her, and a smiled fell upon his lips.

"So now she talks."

"Shut up."

"Ooh, feisty."

Kate groaned. "We're you a human before you got… mutated?"

"Nah, from what I was told, I was an Eastern Barred bandicoot."

Kate shivered. What happened to reality? Since when do anthropomorphic creatures roam the Earth? But, considering Cortex's robots, it was almost as if anything was possible. Life was just getting out of hand.

"Crash was too. See, he's from this dimension, while I'm from another. I was summoned here, though, to kill him," Nega explained. Kate shot a look of pure hatred at him.

"Jack is still alive." Although, she believed that deep down, he was gone. Nega chuckled.

"You just keep telling yourself that shit, darling." He took a glance at his device, and smiled. "And looky here, we've got a signal."

Kate's eyes widened as Nega jumped out of the Jeep, and walked over to her side. He opened her door, and grinned savagely. "Ladies first." Kate scowled, and threw a punch into Nega's muzzle. He yelped in pain and he rubbed it in pain.

"You little…" He grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the car. She winced at his brute force, but recovered quickly. She lobbed another fist into his stomach, and in turn he grasped the inflicted abdomen as if it eased the hurt. He growled and held Kate's wrists.

"Let me go!" Kate grunted as she struggled to escape the evil bandicoot's grip. He curled his lip up, showing his canines with ferocity.

"What are you gonna do? Your hands are tied!"

Kate gave a growl herself, and heaved her knee into Nega's legs. His eyes flew open and he fell to his knees, holding his groin in great agony. "Oyi! Me sugarplums!" he cried, his voice creaking and cracking.

"Seems I put a nook in your cranny," Kate grinned in triumph while backing up a bit. Nega held a mixture of pure rage and pain on his face.

"If there's anything you and that little runt had in common, one of 'em is kicking me in the damn nards! Sheesh!" Nega exclaimed as he was able to stand again. He eyed Kate with darkness now, and he grabbed her. She squirmed to be free, but to avail.

Nega's attention turned to the device. He pressed on the blue glass-like grid, and with each tap, the device made a sort of beeping sound. When Nega was finished with this, he sighed, and placed the device back into his brown trench coat's pocket.

Kate resisted his grip even more, but he continued to hold her as if with little effort. All of a sudden, Kate could see her feet and his starting to dissolve into mere blue grids, which then in turn dispersed into tiny particles that flew up into the atmosphere. This continued to run up their bodies at a rapid pace, until it inevitably reached their heads, and they were gone.

* * *

Crash stared at the Wumpa fruit in his hands. He longed to sink his teeth into the succulent fruit, but every time he held the fruit up to his mouth, something mentally kept him from biting the darn thing. "What is wrong with me?" he growled. Crunch, who was pleasantly lifting weights, cast his eyes over to where the shorter bandicoot stood.

"First of all, you're talking to yourself. Second, too many to count," he grinned. Crash held his adoptive brother with an unsavory air.

"Well, I'm nearly dying to eat this, but I can't. Care to explain, Muscle Man?"

Crunch's head turned back to the weights he was lifting, and he spoke. "You know, you were gone a long time with that chick. I think that the time you spent with her, some sort of bond was established."

"Are you saying that I have feelings for her?" Crash scoffed. Crunched shrugged while heaving the presumably heavy weights up and down.

"No. All I'm saying is that you are showing symptoms yearning a person. You've obviously lost your appetite, and your face portrays feelings of guilt and loss. You make it too obvious."

Crash groaned. He had made it too obvious. "Yeah, well, I need to do something about." Crunch took a small glance at him.

"And what would that be?"

Crash's eyes flickered to the floor as he tossed the fruit away. "I have to go and get her back." Crunch's eyes grew wide as his brow furrowed deeply.

"What?" He lost his grip on the weight that he'd raised, and it came crashing onto his chest. He coughed in pain, and wearily placed it back on the hooks. "You *cough*… just got back!"

Crash was already heading toward his sister's lab. "I know, but if I don't do something, who will?"


	12. Is this where the title goes?

**Odds and Ends**

* * *

Eh, this chapter may not be the greatest… But, read on if you dare… :D

* * *

Nina Cortex was busy sorting through various things in her uncle's lab. Right now, she was considerably bored. Then, she noticed a rather comical looking gun sitting on a far counter. Nina snickered slightly as she sauntered over to where the weapon lay. She picked it up, and eyed it devilishly.

She needed a test subject, and quickly found a rat that Cortex had trapped in a cage for experiments. Nina pointed the gun at it, and pulled the trigger. A blue beam shot out of it, and the shrieked, as its doom was inevitable.

When the girl was finished, she looked at the rat in fulfillment. It was reduced to a mere pile of ashes. She chuckled heartily, and threw the gun back on the table. "Stupid animal."

Abruptly, two figures began to materialize in the lab she was in. She sighed as she saw Nega, holding a rather shocked Kate Clark. Nina smiled. "Seems you've arrived."

"Yes, brat, I've come back successful," Nega growled while taking Kate's wrists and holding them behind her back. Kate brought her eyes to Nina, and saw a small resemblance to her and Cortex, and was probably working with him, so it would prove useless to ask for help.

"Where's Crash?" Nina asked indifferently.

"He's long gone." The teenaged girl was rather shocked by this, and looked at the girl.

"You actually managed to succeed in killing that orange bandicoot? Uncle will be very pleased to hear about this!" Nina spoke to Nega in a congratulating tone.

"Yeah, yeah, speaking of the devil, where is Cortex?" he asked. Nina motioned for her to follow him and he followed, pushing Kate along. She then showed the two to a dark office, and as soon as they entered, the chair behind the desk turned around.

Neo Cortex looked upon the two with a rather happily. Kate was nearly disgusted with his grin. "I see you've returned with the girl. I presume you killed the Bandicoot as well?" Cortex said.

Kate grimaced. "What do you want with me?"

Cortex smiled. "Allow me to remit you, my dear."

* * *

Crash was thinking heavily behind the glass walls of Coco's teleportation device. This was meant for long-distance teleporting, and that is why he stood there. Coco was standing behind a large computer and was typing commands into the system. She sighed and faced her brother.

"Crash, you don't have to do this." He began to talk, but she couldn't here him. She quickly flicked a switch to the microphone. "Mind saying that again?"

"I _said_ that yes, I do have to go and do this," he repeated. "Remember, dear sister, saving the world is my specialty."

"But, Crash… By the time you get there, she could already be…"

"I have to go anyway. Kate… She needs me."

Coco studied his face. And by the looks of it, he needed her just as well. Coco knew what happened to her brother while he was gone, and if he didn't get her back, not only he would be hurting, but the world would be doomed anyway.

"Alright, big brother. Please be careful." She pulled the lever that would send him to Cortex's space station. Crash gave a small smile and winked as he disappeared rather rapidly.

"Have a nice pile of Wumpa fruit ready for me when I get back."

He didn't care for teleporting in the least, but it sure came in handy. When all the whirling around stopped, he found himself in a metal room that was surprisingly dark. Crash stumbled a bit at the sudden landing, but regained balance soon enough.

He studied his surrounding thoughtfully. It was rather dull and not kept well enough. The metal floors gave no warmth, and Crash could feel it was rather frigid in the space station. He walked among the darkly lit hallways in search on any clues on where his friends may be.

"Now if I were an insane doctor, where would I keep a redhead like Kate?" he questioned aloud. He would've expected an alarm by now, but apparently Cortex wasn't worried about him at the moment, which wasn't exactly good.

Crash stopped. His bandicoot ears picked up a noise, which when he listened closer, was voices. It was hard, but he managed to decipher what they were saying.

"Alright, Nega, let's take her to the chamber."

"Grgh, make me do all the work."

"Don't fret bandicoot. You will be paid and on your way."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Crash exhaled slightly. He could hear Kate's voice in the background, but it was mostly only grunts and growls. He crept along a wall, sticking to the shadows. He stopped at the edge of the hall, where they were standing. Kate spoke. "You can't to this to me! It's cruel!"

"Do you think I care, my dear? I was doing the same thing the day I created Crash Bandicoot. I curse the day."

"Crash is not dead! Nega didn't kill him!"

Now it was Nega who spoke. "I shot 'im myself!"

"Then how come I didn't die?"

"Because I merely stunned you, and I—"He paused, and his tone changed. "…forgot to set it to kill mode."

Crash smiled. _That idiot thought he killed me, eh? Sorry, bud, not this time._ Then an enormous amount of racket was heard, and the pitter-patter of feet running his way got louder with each step. "Get her!" Cortex barked.

Kate passed by the hallway that Crash hid, and the latter shouted out to her. "Kate!" She turned around swiftly, and saw that it was her friend.

"Crash!"

* * *

She ran up to him, and was about to embrace him in a hug, but he only pushed her to the wall and told her to shush. Right then, Nega ran to the entrance of where they were concealed. He was snarling, and was looking around for Kate. He glanced down their hallway, and saw she was gone.

He walked down that hall, but didn't notice that they were sitting in the shadows. As he walked down, he finally got to the point of where they couldn't see him. Kate looked at Crash, and smiled warmly.

"You're alive." She wrapped her arms around his waist and locked them together. Crash couldn't help but smiling and returning the gesture. They stayed that way for what seemed like hours, when only mere seconds ticked by.

"Hey, I'm not someone you can get rid of so easily," he said upon pulling away. He grasped Kate's wrists, and led her to a spot where he thought would cover them more efficiently. They got on their knees and Kate looked him in the eye.

"So what's the escape plan?"

Crash opened his mouth to speak, but he hadn't really thought of one yet. "Uh… Well—"

"You don't have one, do you?" Kate questioned. Crash sighed, and Kate rolled her eyes. "Good for thinking on your feet."

"Look, I'm sure there's an escape pod somewhere, so until we get there, let's try and ditch these losers." It sounded like logic to Kate, so she shrugged passively. Crash once again took her hand and led her down the hall.

Kate followed along obediently, because she figured he knew much more about Cortex's labs than she did. But she smiled sheepishly as he led her along down the corridor. "Crash."

"Yeah?"

"You don't have to hold my hand. I'm twenty, and I think I can manage." He released his grip instantly as he felt his face grow hot in embarrassment.

"Sorry, mate." Kate chuckled, and sighed.

"It's okay."

Crash continued to lead her down the long hall that seemed endless, but carefully avoided any contact by various scientists and minions. When he reached another corner, he flattened himself against the wall. "Alright, Kate, I see some escape pods. You ready?"

He heard no reply, and furrowed his brow. "Kate?" He twisted around, and instead met the barrel of a black gun. His eyes looked up to the wielder of the gun.

"Crap," Crash muttered. Nega was holding an unconscious Kate, and was smiling wickedly.

"Light's out, pretty boy." He promptly brought the nose of the gun to Crash's chest and let off a green beam that when it hit him, his counterpart lost consciousness. Nega seemed to take an extreme liking to guns, and secured his present firearm under his arm. He brought out a radio, and pressed the button.

"Alright, their out. Send someone to help me, would ya?"

It took a moment, but a static-ridden voice spoke from the communication device. "Alright." The person on the other line seemed to be N. Gin, but Nega couldn't really care less. He glimpsed at Crash with an easy smile.

"You're going to love what Cortex has in store for you, Bandicoot."

* * *

Alright, I know this chapter is short, but I was anxious to post it! I promise that the next one will be longer! :D Love you guys!


	13. Confessions

**Odds and Ends**

* * *

Cortex shifted and got a better view of what work lay before him. He studied it up and down, and spoke to it. "Cyboria, awaken," he commanded.

The Cyborg, whose face was hidden by the bangs of her hair, was released from her cords that gripped her back and held her in the air. Her feet hit the ground with a solid clang, and she brushed the hair from her face. Cortex looked at her face in curiosity.

"Cyboria, what is your mission?"

The red light on her eyepiece that took place of her right eye glowed at this. "My mission is to destroy Crash Bandicoot, and to loyally respect my creator, Doctor Neo Cortex," she spoke in metallic, yet human voice.

Cortex was almost thrilled. A security robot that was watching stood there, and caught the mad scientist's attention. He turned to Cyboria again. "Destroy that robot."

Cyboria's red eye flashed bright, and she pointed cannon arm at the machine and fired faster than greased lightning. The robot had a neat hole burnt right through it, and quickly fell to the ground, useless. Cortex felt a devilish smile creep upon his face.

"Very good, Cyboria. Now, find that bandicoot."

Cyboria's facial features remained blank, but she nodded and walked past the Doctor. "With pleasure."

* * *

Crash moaned. His head hurt, and he was awfully sleepy. What happened? He thought about it, and saw that he was trapped in a dull circular room with cords scattered along the floor. "Oh, right. Space station."

He got to his feet, and saw that there was a window at the very top of the room. Nega and Nina were looking down at him with smiles on their faces. "What are they so cheery about?" Crash muttered aloud. Then he remembered; Kate. Oh, crap, how long was he out? Where was she?

"Where's Kate at?" he shouted up at them. He could hear Nega speak from the window, for apparently it was not thick.

"You'll see her soon enough, pretty boy."

Crash growled. He scanned the room for an exit, and noticed a metal door that was sealed shut, and probably locked. Great. He looked back up at the window, and now saw Cortex standing there to observe. Crash groaned.

"Have I turned into an interesting sideshow or something?" Cortex's features were ridden with anticipation and malevolence.

"No, Bandicoot, today you will meet your ultimate demise."

"Pfft. Like I haven't heard that before," Crash ridiculed. Cortex didn't seem deterred by his remark in the least.

"This challenge will be different from the others, Crash. Your own friend turned enemy will be doing the job of ridding a nuisance such as you from our lives forever."

"Friend turned enemy?" Crash pondered audibly. As if on cue, the door to where Crash was trapped slid open. He glanced in that direction, and in the darkness of what lay behind it was a single red dot that seemed to pulsate. Crash furrowed his brow and shoved his hands into his pockets.

Then, a woman who was half-human and half-machine walked out into the open, and Crash gasped softly. "Kate?" As soon as she was in the room, the door closed and locked behind her. She stood still and didn't take her gaze away from Crash.

"Crash Bandicoot," she greeted soberly. Crash was utterly shocked at what happened to her, because she was totally different! Her hair was down and straight, and perfectly fell down her shoulders. The only skin he could see was her face. Her entire right forearm was gone, replaced with a large mortar, and her eye were almost completely gray.

"What happened…?" Crash breathed. Cortex chuckled.

"She's mine now. Cyboria was created to destroy you, Crash, and she'll rule the world alongside me." Crash couldn't take his eyes off of the woman who'd once been his friend, and gulped.

"Kate…"

"My name is Cyboria, you little cretin," the Cyborg snapped. Crash backed up slightly. "Call me Kate again and I'll shoot you where you stand."

Crash was knocked for six upon hearing her say such ferocious words. Kate seemed gone, but he knew he'd just have to bring her back. Cortex averted his eyes to where Cyboria had taken a stance.

"Kill him."

A sinful smirk curled Cyboria's lip up. "Gladly." Crash's eyes widened immensely as Cyboria lunged at him. In seconds, he was pinned to the ground, staring up at her vicious face.

"Kate, snap out of it! You don't work for this creep!" Crash swayed to her. She scowled and held up the barrel of her cannon to his face.

"You dare question my place of work?"

Crash blinked, and shoved the heavy Cyborg off him. He was back on his feet in no time, and he kept watching Cyboria cautiously. She stood up with a look of pure rage on her paler than usual face. "Kate, listen to me—"

"Why do that when I could have so much _more_ fun ripping out your innards?"

Nega watched the battle with interest. "My, my, Cortex. She's quite the minion. And just to think, hours ago she was an ally to pretty boy."

Nina also sighed. "Yes, she truly is evil. Let's throw her a party."

"_Ooh_, is the brat jealous?"

"Silence, Bandicoot!"

"Please, you two. Quit your useless banter," Cortex intervened whilst still watching the onslaught. Nega and Nina grumbled incoherent words, but nevertheless were quiet.

Cyboria, through the sight of her right mechanical eye, readied her weapon-ized arm for fire. Crash noticed the inside of it began to glow bright pink, and realized that it was charging. Crap.

"Look, I know that I can be a jerk sometimes, but is trying to kill me really necessary?" he joked. Cyboria didn't seem to be slowed in the least be his humor.

"Trying to be funny will only get you killed, Bandicoot," she growled when trying to ready another attack.

"Hey, I've survived on it for years and I'm still kicking," Crash sneered. He quickly dodged another beam, and laughed, "And lucky as usual."

Cyboria grit her teeth together in seething anger, but changed her weapon. Her arm transformed into a flamethrower, and she aimed it at her opponent. "You infernal rat."

"Marsupial, thank you very much." Cyboria lowered her gun and sighed.

"Do you think I care?"

Crash flashed a trademark grin, and gave a thumbs-up. "Touché, mate." Cyboria gave a battle cry as she ran at him. Crash's grinned vanished, and just as she leapt at him, he performed a slide on his knees as her bulky body passed over his.

Cyboria hit the ground with a loud _thud_, and Crash rapidly turned to face her. She got up, and was wincing and holding a sore spot on her head. Crash was instantly filled with guilt as she looked at him in pain.

Crash let the better side of his nature get to him. "You okay?"

Cyboria growled, and stood up. She gave a sweep-kick that knocked him to his feet. Crash was aghast for a moment, and she quickly restrained him to the metal floor. "I don't need your sympathy, Crash."

"Ah, so we've decided use first names now, huh?" Crash smirked. Cyboria exhaled sharply in irritation. She put the nozzle of the flamethrower to his face, and Crash cringed. "Hey, no need to be hasty."

"Your death is my mission." She readied the flames that would soon end his life, and smiled with malice. "Any last words?"

Crash looked into the eye that once was filled with vibrancy and joy, and he sighed. "You know, I never thought you of all people would be the death of me. 'Kate Clark kills Crash Bandicoot.'"

Cyboria seemed momentarily stunned by this name, and Crash noticed it. So, he continued to speak with more confidence. "I also know that you never wanted to be a Cyborg or Cortex's minion. You wanted to be an artist."

"I… _did_…" Cyboria mumbled. Crash knew that he could actually succeed in this and resumed.

"And that little dragon tramp stamp you had was sure cute."

For the first time, he saw Cyboria blushing, and she blinked a few times. "I got it because my brother dared me to!"

Crash was amazed at this; that was more Kate's voice than Cyboria's. By now, she was grimacing heavily, and she stood up. Crash was relieved, because she was pretty heavy. Cyboria clutched her head stiffly, and she stumbled backward.

"Ugh, quiet you pesky female!" Cyboria shouted. Crash was confused now. What was happening? Seemingly, Kate still had a conscious, but didn't seem to be winning.

Crash was unfortunately still in range, and Cyboria kicked him to a wall. He hit the wall with a heavy pound. He groaned as he slid down to the floor. His chest was in a great deal of pain, and he looked at Cyboria's face, which was shocked.

"Crash!" she shouted in remorse. He coughed, and rubbed his aching chest.

"No hard feelings. Being possessed isn't too good either, I suppose."

Cyboria's red eye studied Crash, but every image through there seemed to fuzz up with static. "SYSTEM OVERRIDE" kept flashing over and over, and she growled, approached the fallen bandicoot.

"Why is this girl so important to you, Crash Bandicoot?" she questioned as she took her metal hand to his throat and sliding him up the wall. He choked slightly, and stared her in the eye. He took in what breath he had, and furrowed his brow.

"Because I love her."

* * *

Cyboria's face fell, her expression unreadable. Her grip lessened until her hand fell to her side. The red light on her eyepiece began to flicker and fade. "Love…?" Finally, the red light totally gave out, and it was black.

Crash slid to the floor and stood. He rubbed his sore neck as he stared at the woman before him. "…Kate?"

She blinked, and her gaze focused on Crash. "Crash, I-I'm… Sorry…"

Crash sighed in utter relief, and grabbed her in a hug. Kate returned it instantly, and pressed her face against his chest. "Don't be," he breathed.

Cortex growled. Cyboria had gone offline, and when he tried to regain control, he couldn't. "No! What happened?"

Nega sighed. "Seems pretty boy's emotions got the better of him." Nina was smirking to herself. She was the evil little girl once again. Cortex stormed down to his main lab, where he ordered his robots to destroy the two.

But Nina came up behind her enraged uncle. "Didn't you create her to be a killing machine?"

Kate and Crash were at the door to the room where they battled. "Okay, do you know the code to this door?" Crash asked. She shrugged and pointed the flamethrower at it. Flames spewed at the door, and a large hole was singed into it. "That works."

They crawled through the hole that led them into a dark, unlit hallway. Kate simply lit a flame that lighted the way. Crash thought this flamethrower thing came in handy, and he walked alongside Kate. After five minutes of walking, they reached a lighted area, and she disarmed the flamethrower as it retracted back into her cannon.

"Alright, let's find those escape pods, shall we?" Kate asked. Crash grinned.

"You bet."

"If I'm correct, they should be at least two halls down."

"Let's go with your theory."

They settled the agreement, and walked in the determined direction. But, to their dismay, two security bots were standing in the entrance of their hall. Crash groaned. "Great. More robots."

Kate looked at him with a snicker. "Give me a minute." Her cannon readied a beam, and electricity shot out of it, and the robots quickly exploded. Crash chuckled. That required no effort from him, and that thrilled him.

"Good going, Kate. Let's go." Crash was the one who stepped in front of her, and she followed. Eventually, they reached their destination, but it was being guarded heavily by at least a dozen of the same security bots. Kate scowled.

"He must've known, that yellow bastard."

"Hey, let me handle this," he smiled jubilantly. He casually stepped out into the view of the robots, and stopped right in front of them. "Alright, who wants a piece of this bandicoot?"

Every security bot raised a gun and took aim at Crash. Kate, in a panic, ran out into the open and aimed her own weapon at them. A white blazing shaft of light discharged from her mortar, and sliced every robot in half. Kate looked at Crash in bewilderment.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was in belief that you would come out and destroy them, you just needed motivation," he explained.

"You idiot."

"Hey, I'm not the one with a weapon, here."

They made their way to a pod, and noticed how small they were. Crash studied it with wonder, and glanced at Kate. "Ladies first."

She groaned, but before she got in, she pressed a red button that was placed next to the pods. Red lights began to sporadically fill the halls, and a siren began to go off. "What'd you do?" Crash asked her. Kate smirked.

"Payback for turning me into a Cyborg."

"Let me guess, the station will self-destruct in a few minutes?"

"You got it."

Crash smiled and ruffled up her hair a bit. "That's my girl." He stepped inside the capsule and Kate soon followed. It was rather cramped, and their bodies were just inches apart as they could only stand. Kate looked at Crash, who was equal height to her now. "Where are we landing?" Crash could only grin.

"Set a course for N. Sanity Island, Australia."

"Insanity?"

"No, N. Sanity. Not insanity."

"Right."

Kate turned to a small keyboard that was in her reach, typed a few commands, and the capsule shipped off into space, heading off to Earth. Crash sighed again, and Kate did too.

"Well, it's good to have ya back, Red."

"It's good to be back." Kate paused, and gazed at Crash with a serene face. "So, you… love me?"

Crash was hesitant, but sighed. "Yeah, I do. You're something else, you know that, kid?"

"Something else, alright," Kate smiled. It became awkwardly quiet after that, but Kate locked her metal hand around Crash's own. "I love you, too."

* * *

Coco Bandicoot had been practicing her martial arts on a tree outside her home. She threw a fist at it, and then a kick, and finally a chop that made a cracking sound when it made contact. Coco shook her hand in pain, and Aku Aku, who'd been watching, floated closer.

"Coco, perhaps if you angled your hand a bit lower, you would've made an incision," he suggested. Coco only glared slightly at the mask, but ignored his advice.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Crunch walked up behind her, and saw what she had been doing. He grinned. "Allow me." He threw his metal fist into the tree, and the poor thing snapped like a twig. He smirked at Coco in arrogant triumph, but the toppling tree collided into the roof of their house.

Coco turned to see Crunch, his expression one of grief and shock. "Nice work; all brawn and no brains."

But then another crash was heard, this being far off from their house. "What was that?" Aku asked. They all took off in the direction that the clatter was heard, and came upon a small capsule that had smashed into the forest, leaving a torn trail of dirt and plants behind.

They stopped in their tracks upon sight, and the door of the pod opened. A metal hand grasped the edge of the door, and heaved herself out. Coco gasped, but Crunch and Aku were confused. Kate collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily.

"What an impact." She stood up, and first glanced at the small bandicoot girl. Coco growled, but the Cyborg woman smiled and held out a hand. "Hi, you must be Co—"

She was interrupted by a brute uppercut to the jaw. Kate stumbled backward, flabbergasted. "What the… What was that for?"

"Where's my brother?" Coco asked while preparing for battle.

"Oyi!"

All heads turned to see an orange hand waving from the pod. "Assistance would be very kind right about now." The Kate groaned while rubbing her jaw and walking to the pod. She grasped the hand and helped the bandicoot out. He smiled. "Thanks mate."

Crash saw his sister, looking dumbly at him and the Kate. "What's with you?" he asked. Coco shook it off, and ran up to her brother and wrapping him in a hug.

"You're back!" she shouted joyously. The Kate rolled her eyes. Minutes ago she was ready to kill her. Crash chuckled and pushed his sister away.

"Yeah, I'm back. I'd also like you to meet someone," he said upon gesturing to Kate. Coco smiled sheepishly. "This is Kate."

"Nice to meet you… Kate," Coco said, and she put out her hand. "Sorry about earlier."

Kate grasped her hand and shook it warmly. "It's okay."

Crunch was watching the whole situation with a rather amused expression. "Well, if this tea party is over, I have to go and take a run. Nice meeting you, Kate." He turned and left. Crash sighed.

"He's the family's 'Talkative One,'" he scoffed. Kate nodded and put her hand to her hip.

"Obviously. And… There's a floating mask… over there…" she stated slowly. Aku brought himself in front of Kate and readied his voice.

"I am Aku Aku, the protective spirit of these three islands. I'm honored to meet you, Kate." Kate gave a small grin before shifting a bit.

"You too, Aku."

Crash yawned and gave a stretch. "I am exhausted. I am going to fill my stomach with Wumpa fruit, and take the king of all naps right underneath my favorite tree."

He headed off and Kate only watched. Coco sighed. "That's my brother, all right. Glad to see that you didn't change him too much."

"Changing that fur ball would take a lot more than a month with me," Kate reckoned. Coco smirked.

"So, are you staying with us now?"

"You know, I'm not sure. If I went back home looking like this, I don't think I'd have much luck getting back into college."

"Well, you're free to crash here for awhile."

"Thanks." The two girls began to walk back to the house, and Kate spotted a snoring Crash, his gut bulging slightly from consuming massive amounts of Wumpa fruit. Kate sighed, and sat beside him. Coco continued to walk to the house, and she looked back at Kate.

"You know, if you like him, you have to put up with him too."

Kate flashed a grin. "I have this long, and I think I've got the hang of it." Coco giggled lightly, and walked inside the house. Kate leaned back on the tree, and looked at the bandicoot beside her.

"You know, Crash, I'm not sure where reality has gone, but, here's to my new life." Suddenly, a fruit was held in her face.

"Would you like a Wumpa fruit to celebrate?" Crash asked. Kate smiled, but pushed the fruit away.

"I can't eat."

Crash shrugged. "Suit yourself." He gorged the fruit in less than two minutes, and finished with a satisfying sigh. "You don't know what you're missing out on."

"Yeah, if only I still had a stomach."

Crash was about to crack a joke about it, but saw that Kate was completely serious. "Oh. Sorry."

"Eh, it's alright. I have to cope with it, I guess."

Kate positioned herself closer to Crash, and he put an arm around her shoulders. "You know, I think I'm actually going to like it on N. Sanity."

Crash chuckled. "It's all odds and ends around here, Kate."

* * *

And thus, I end this story. But, what's a story without an epilogue? There's one chapter left to go, and I must thank all of you sincerely for bearing thousands of words of the flourishing love between these two love birds. A huge thanks to every reviewer, because they truly mean every word to me.

Thanks again, signed:

Chicflick


	14. Epilogue

**Odds and Ends: Epilogue**

* * *

I'm gonna say it now, so I don't put the mood in the ending away. This is the very last chapter of Odd and Ends, I'm afraid. After this chapter, I'm going to click the "complete" button thingamajig with a very heavy heart. Thank you all so much for bearing every chapter, let it be fantastic or just plain sappy. You've all been such a wonderful audience, and I must say that I truly believe that I don't deserve this many reviews. But, you seemed to tolerate it, nonetheless, and in return, I will continue this as a series. Thanks again, and I bid you all adieu.

* * *

Kate sighed irritably. "Coco, are you so sure that this will work?" The bandicoot girl looked over from her titanic computer monitor.

"Well, you don't have to do it, you know. It's the only way to get your body back."

Kate fidgeted uncomfortably in the chamber she was in. "Well, if you say so… I'll won't be running around in this metal carcass anymore, right?"

"If everything goes according to plan."

"Wait, something could happen?"

"Kate, in order to move forward, we must take risks."

"I'm not gonna **die**, am I?"

Coco hesitated, but smiled uneasily. "No, no. You'll be fine."

Kate felt her heart skip a beat, but she closed her eyes and cleared her mind. "Alright, run the machine."

* * *

_Hours earlier…_

Kate Clark was sitting in the living room to their house, watching Crunch and Crash do reconstruction on the roof. Crash sighed. "You know, Crunch, I shouldn't be doing this." The larger bandicoot stopped pounding his hammer, and looked at him.

"Hey, this is going to add on to your little girlfriend's bedroom, so you might as well help." Crash rolled his eyes and jumped down from his ladder. He grabbed another piece of wood and climbed back up to the roof. The he realized he'd forgotten his hammer, and he poked his head through the hole of the roof.

"Hey, do you mind handing me my hammer, Kate?" he asked. Kate furrowed her brow, and looked up at him.

"Magic word?"

Crash groaned. "Please."

Kate turned her head away for him. "I don't like your _tone._"

"C'mon, babe, please? This needs to get done!"

"Pfft. Like you've been such a big help," Crunch derided. Crash didn't bother arguing, because Kate had already gotten up and was handing the tool to her companion. He grabbed it and flashed a smile.

"_Thank_ you," he said, and disappeared from her view. Kate sighed, and started toward the front door, yet she was stopped by Coco.

"Kate, hey, I was… just wondering if you'd want to do something with me."

Kate considered it a bit. "What's in mind?"

"I don't know. Talk?"

"Eh, why not? Crash is busy anyway."

"Alright. Why don't we do it in my room?"

"Lead the way."

The two girls walked into Coco's room, and the bandicoot girl plopped onto her bed. Kate decided to stand, because he chairs looked flimsy and unable to hold her bulky metal weight. Being made of titanium was a pain.

"So, Kate, what was your life like in America?" Coco asked in curiosity. Kate thought it over, and spoke.

"Well, it was rather interesting. I had plenty of friends, and college was okay I guess. I didn't like my headmaster at all, though. She was a haggard old woman who had a cat."

"_Had?_"

"I accidentally ran over him… I felt really bad and tried to apologize, but she didn't give any forgiveness. Old woman needs to retire already."

"So does Cortex, but we all know that Crash would sooner stop being a wise ass," Coco joked. They chuckled lightly, but Kate seemed to be in a melancholy state at the moment. "What's wrong, Kate?"

The Cyborg shifted and leaned up against the wall. "I wish I was human again."

Coco was perplexed. "What do you mean?"

"Well, first of all, I've been here for three days and haven't slept a wink. I can't. And besides, being charged in your lab for hours a day really sucks. I feel like a machine with only a heart, lungs, and brain," Kate explained. She fixed her ponytail with her metal hand, and groaned. "I can't even put my hair up correctly. I only have one hand."

Coco gazed at the crestfallen Kate in sympathy. "I can't even feel the hugs Crash gives me. Hell, I can't even cry." Kate sighed. "But, I need to stop complaining. At least Cortex didn't kill me."

Coco thought about Kate's problems. The poor young woman was going through a lot. But _maybe_… she could **fix** it. "Hey, Kate, I have to go to my lab for a minute. Wanna come?"

Kate shrugged, and pushed her dejected thoughts out of her mind. "Sure."

After researching and testing, Coco figured a way that Kate could be as organic as possible. It was a big decision, but as soon as Kate heard of the way, she agreed immediately. She didn't fancy her metal body whatsoever.

* * *

_Present…_

Coco pulled the lever to the machine. The chamber was filled with a rotary noise, and heavy metal clanging. She looked at cut on her hand and quickly tried to bandage it. The machine was creating clatter that and stopped five minutes later. As soon as the whirling ceased, a giant crash of metal was heard inside.

Coco gradually walked to the compartment, and the door cracked open slightly. "Coco," coughed the voice inside, "get me a towel or something."

"Did it work?"

"*Cough*…yeah… it worked. *Cough, cough*."

Coco rapidly dashed out of her lab and into her room. She sorted through her clothes, and tried to find a shirt that was too large for her, along with a pair of pants. She succeeded and came across a light pink shirt and a pair of jean shorts. She hoped that they were the size Kate wore, grabbed a pair of undergarments, and ran back to her lab.

Coco handed all the clothes to Kate's outstretched hand from the door, and heard a "Thanks," followed by a coughing fit. The young bandicoot girl figured that during this transformation, Kate had to become acquainted with her new body, and was having difficulty with it.

Soon enough, Kate stumbled out of the chamber, and nearly fell to the floor. Coco helped Kate stand, and was astonished as she got a look at her face.

The renovation had been successful.

As soon as Kate was able to stand on her own, Coco stared at her in utter awe. Kate's ear twitched, and her nose wrinkled. "You got a mirror?" she asked. Coco quickly grabbed a handheld mirror that had been conveniently lying on a lab table, and gave it to Kate.

Kate held the mirror to her face, and gasped in shock. She was indeed an Anthrian bandicoot now. She saw her light orange fur glow in the sunlight through the window of Coco's lab. Cream color bordered her mouth and ran down her torso. Kate had changed drastically.

She began to poke at her abdomen, it receding slightly with each contact. She giggled, and looked up at Coco. "This is so weird…" She fiddled with her bandicoot ears, and looked at her hands. Where were her fingernails? A sharp grumbling ran through her stomach, and tiny claws shot out, and retracted. Well, they were claws now.

"Seems you're hungry," Coco laughed. Kate smiled nervously.

"**Starving**, but before we do that, why don't we show Crash and Crunch?"

"They won't even recognize you!"

"Exactly."

So, the two girls walked out into the living room. Coco inhaled deeply, and shouted up the hole, "Crash! Crunch! Come here!"

It took a few minutes, but there came a reply. Crash's reply. "What do you want?"

"You need to see this!"

"You heard your sister," Crunch's voice said. "You need to see it."

"Wait, no Crunch—what are you doing? Don't do it! _NO_!" Crash shouted as he fell through the hole. He landed on the floor with a pain-filled grunt, and he moaned. "Ugh. There's no need to **throw** people."

He got up and dusted himself off, and he looked at Coco and the Kate. He looked at Kate a little longer, and he faced his sister. "Who's she?"

Coco smiled, as did Kate. Crash was puzzled. "What?"

"You know who she is," Coco sniggered, and Kate kept her gaze on Crash. He narrowed his eyes, and studied the redheaded bandicoot female.

"Okay, I'll bite. Who is this?"

Kate readied her voice, and stared at Crash hard. "Magic word?"

Crash groaned in frustration. "You're just like Kate. Please? … Wait a minute…" He scrutinized the woman more, and was in disbelief. "**Kate…**?"

"It _really_ is all odds and ends around here, isn't it?" she beamed, and he looked at her in bafflement.

"You're… A bandicoot now! How the hell did _this_ happen?"

"Well, Coco donated some of her blood to help me become fully flesh again. I don't know how to thank her for it, either," Kate briefed. Crash blinked a few times, and he quickly embraced her and held her close.

"Oh, Kate," he muttered. "You keep surprising me with a new appearance. Before I know it, you'll be a tree stump."

Kate pulled away slightly so she could see his face. "Nah, I think I like this better." Their faces were mere inches apart, and Crash smiled.

"I love you."

"I love you too, you little idiot."

Coco rolled her eyes, and began to walk to her room. But, just as she was passing behind her older brother, she pushed him toward Kate, and the two's lips pressed together. Their eyes were wide in shock for a moment, and they pulled away.

Crash and Kate was blushing a shade of red that seemed impossible, and he turned his head to Coco, who was already walking into her room. "**Coco!**"

Coco was snickering madly as she closed her door. Kate inhaled deeply and kept her eyes to the floor in embarrassment, and Crash was just shoving his hands into his pockets and looking at the ceiling. Crunch jumped through the hole in the room and landed on his feet.

"Alright, what was it?" His eyes shifted to Kate and Crash, and he sighed. "I'm not _even_ gonna ask why you two are blushing redder than your own hair, and why Kate's a bandicoot." He walked past them, and into the kitchen.

Crash shook himself, and came to the present. "Well, Kate, I gotta go outside and do something."

"What exactly?" Kate questioned.

"I'm craving a nap under my tree."

"Did I _say_ you could?"

"I don't need your **approval**," Crash snickered, and Kate feigned a hurt tone.

"And you don't even _invite_ me?"

"You can tag along, I suppose." Crash pushed open the door with Kate in tow. It was a short walk, with Kate and Crash giving playful shoves to one another, and they finally reached the tree. The sat down with a huff, and stared at the setting sun.

"You know, Crash… This is really nice."

"Yeah, yeah. The sunsets are really nice around here," Crash sighed.

Kate snuggled closer to Crash. "And romantic." The two were happily quiet for a moment, until a grumbling noise erupted from Kate's stomach. Crash furrowed his brow and turned his head to Kate, who was currently looking sheepish and guilty.

"I know of a way to silence the beast in your gut." He stood up, and shook the tree. Several Wumpa fruit fell to the ground, and Crash picked one up. He took a bite out of it, and quickly swallowed it. "Delicious."

Kate smirked at him dubiously, and picked up a fruit. "If you say so." She took a hesitant bite, but as soon as she swallowed, her face went blank, and Crash settled himself next to her, devouring his own Wumpa fruit already.

"Well?"

"My word, you weren't kidding!" She began to heartily eat the fruit, and as soon as she was finished, she grabbed another. "This so good," she muttered between chews. Crash could only laugh at her as she continued to inhale as many Wumpa fruit as possible.

He put an arm around her as soon as she proclaimed herself stuffed, and he chuckled. "Oh, Kate."

"Oh, Crash."


End file.
